Behavioural responses of Canada lynx to cyclic declines in the snowshoe hare

I completed my PhD at Trent University in Environmental and Life Sciences. Building on previous work in southwestern Yukon, I investigated how changes in prey abundance influence the foraging behaviour of Canada lynx. I conducted field research in Yukon over three winters and led or aided in the capture of over 100 lynx that were fitted with GPS transmitters, accelerometers, and audio recorders. This specialized equipment allowed us (myself and colleagues) to gain in-depth and fine-scale knowledge about lynx hunting behaviours and how they may change during the natural 10-year cycle in snowshoe hare populations. The Yukon was an amazing place to conduct fieldwork, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Publications

When death comes: linking predator–prey activity patterns to timing of mortality to understand predation risk

Shotaro Shiratsuru, E. Studd, S. Boutin, M. J. Peers, Y. Majchrzak, A. Menzies, R. Derbyshire, Thomas S. Jung, C. Krebs, R. Boonstra, D. Murray

Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2023

Activity, heart rate, and energy expenditure of a cold-climate mesocarnivore, the Canada lynx

A. Menzies, E. Studd, J. Seguin, R. Derbyshire, D. Murray, S. Boutin, M. Humphries

Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2022

Behavioural adjustments of predators and prey to wind speed in the boreal forest

E. Studd, M. J. Peers, A. Menzies, R. Derbyshire, Y. Majchrzak, J. Seguin, D. Murray, B. Dantzer, J. E. Lane, A. McAdam, M. Humphries, S. Boutin

Oecologia, 2022

Functional Responses Shape Node and Network Level Properties of a Simplified Boreal Food Web

J. Gobin, T. Hossie, R. Derbyshire, Samuel Sonnega, Tucker W. Cambridge, Lee E. Scholl, Nicolas Diaz Kloch, Arthur E. Scully, Kiefer Thalen, Graeme M. Smith, Carly B. Scott, Francis Quinby, Jordan N. H. Reynolds, Hannah Miller, Holly Faithfull, Owen Lucas, C. Dennison, Jordan McDonald, S. Boutin, M. O’Donoghue, C. Krebs, R. Boonstra, D. Murray

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2022

Food availability and long-term predation risk interactively affect antipredator response.

Shotaro Shiratsuru, Y. Majchrzak, M. J. Peers, E. Studd, A. Menzies, R. Derbyshire, M. Humphries, C. Krebs, D. Murray, S. Boutin

Ecology, 2021

The Purr‐fect Catch: Using accelerometers and audio recorders to document kill rates and hunting behaviour of a small prey specialist

E. Studd, R. Derbyshire, A. Menzies, John F. Simms, M. Humphries, D. Murray, S. Boutin

Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2020