Research wildlife biologist John Squires will be discussing insights into how Canada lynx responds to natural and human-caused disturbance, in the context of lynx conservation and forest management, on Thursday, Sept. 5, at noon.
Squires is presenting at the upcoming Draper Natural History Museum Lunchtime Expedition lecture at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The free presentation, titled “A Specialist Carnivore at its Southern Range Periphery: Canada Lynx in Disturbed Landscapes,” will take place in the Center’s Coe Auditorium.
For those who prefer to attend virtually via Zoom, registration is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3UViCAd6TcC5m3gEmPNusg.
High-elevation, subalpine forests inhabited by the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) have been increasingly impacted by natural and human-caused disturbances in the Northern and Southern Rocky Mountains, including forest insect outbreaks, fire, recreation, forest fragmentation, and energy development, according to Squires.
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For many years, Squires, a research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, has been studying lynx movement using GPS collars to understand their use of the landscape. His research also aims to explore how disturbance impacts the ecology and conservation of lynx, wolverines, and prairie-nesting raptors in the Northern and Southern Rocky Mountains as well as in Wyoming.
Squires noted that disturbances lead to changes in forest age, type, and arrangement, affecting not only lynx but also other species and human recreationists. Through a combination of lynx locations, satellite images, and field measurements of vegetation and recreation, his research provides valuable insights and guidance to land managers on conserving this species in a changing environment.
“Land management agencies face challenges in balancing species conservation with forest product extraction, fire resilience, and outdoor recreation in the face of increasing disturbances,” Squires explained.
“My research aims to develop new understandings of wildlife ecology through practical, on-the-ground field research that can be applied to the real-world challenges of science-based land management and conservation,” he added.
