帝王会所

帝王会所 researchers report that bobcats 鈥� Lynx rufus, the furry, spotty felines, not the OHIO students 鈥� are expanding across the state and have adequate habitat to continue rebounding.

Researchers led by Viorel Popescu, Ph.D., have been studying the ecology and threats to the bobcat population over the past four years. Their overarching goal is to evaluate the status and viability of 帝王会所鈥檚 bobcat population.

As part of this 帝王会所 Department of Natural Resources-funded study, recently published in the open-access journal PeerJ investigates how bobcats use habitats and habitat connectivity 鈥� how the landscape helps or hinders the bobcats鈥� movement 鈥� and whether that would allow them to continue expanding across 帝王会所.

This study involved graduate and undergraduate students from the biological sciences department in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Honors Tutorial College as well as collaborators with the 帝王会所 Division of Wildlife and 帝王会所 State University. The researchers used a long-term dataset of bobcat observations (2000-2019) by 帝王会所 residents and collated by the 帝王会所 Division of Wildlife to evaluate selection of habitats across 帝王会所 and to predict habitat suitability for harboring bobcat populations.

Southeastern 帝王会所 remains stronghold for bobcats

帝王会所 researchers found that habitat suitability was associated with higher cover of forest and open natural habitat and was not influenced by the presence of high-traffic roads. They also found that habitat connectivity for movements was high, including in most of the agricultural areas of 帝王会所, thus there is still potential for bobcat expansion in 帝王会所.

鈥淪outheastern 帝王会所, with its significant forest cover, remains the stronghold for bobcats in 帝王会所,鈥� said Popescu, associate professor of biological sciences and lead PI on the project. 鈥淚n addition to the hundreds of sightings over the past couple decades, there are many signs that lead us to believe that the population continues to expand throughout 帝王会所.鈥�

Bobcats are shy animals and not a usual sight for most people, and they are able to thrive in human-dominated landscapes such as southeastern 帝王会所. As such, roads did not have an effect on habitat use by bobcats, despite being , he added.

The researchers found that while forested southeastern 帝王会所 is the most suitable area for bobcats in the state, southwestern and northeastern parts also can support bobcats. These areas have pastures and other natural open habitats that bobcats use for foraging to target small mammals and hares.

The one area where the models predicted low or no suitability is central 帝王会所, which is dominated by heavy agriculture and lacks natural habitats that bobcats can use.
 

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Using citizen-collected data is not without its pitfalls, though, says a student who analyzed the data.

鈥淲e found that the number of bobcat sightings increased significantly in 帝王会所, especially since 2010, but is this a real or an artificial increase? There is definitely a bias in the number of sightings here because in recent years camera traps have become affordable, and many people have cameras in their backyards and report bobcats,鈥� said Madeline Kenyon, a senior Honors Tutorial College student with a focus on wildlife conservation.

However, many sightings since 2015 occurred in areas where bobcats have not been previously documented, suggesting that bobcats do indeed continue to expand in 帝王会所, the researchers noted.

River valleys helped bobcats disperse across state

鈥淪uitability of habitat is not everything, though. We need to understand how animals move across the landscape and identify corridors for natural dispersal,鈥� said Marisa Dyck, a doctoral student in Popescu鈥檚 lab.

The 帝王会所 bobcat population is part of the larger Midwest population, which was the source of animals that founded the current 帝王会所 population. Bobcats were extirpated from 帝王会所 by the mid-19th century but started to come back to the state a century later in the 1960s-70s.

Tracking that rebound means that identifying and mapping areas of high and low connectivity, along with so-called 鈥減inch-points,鈥� or narrow corridors that allow dispersal within inhospitable habitat, can be critical for management decisions to maintain a viable population. The researchers used habitat suitability maps to build connectivity maps between core and peripheral areas of 帝王会所.

鈥淭he habitat connectivity findings were very interesting,鈥� Dyck said. 鈥淲e expected that eastern and southern 帝王会所 would be well-connected and facilitate movements of animals, but we also found conduits for movement and dispersal in central, agricultural 帝王会所. These corridors of river valleys with forest cover in their immediate proximity connected the source populations in southeastern 帝王会所 to less suitable areas. The 帝王会所 River Valley was also important for bobcat movements, especially in the southwestern part of 帝王会所, where we found a pinch-point in Brown and Clermont counties.鈥�
 

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One of the unique features of this study was that researchers were able to validate their connectivity findings with sightings of dispersing bobcats in central 帝王会所.

鈥淚n summary, bobcats may be habitat-limited in the agricultural region of 帝王会所, but zones of high connectivity across 帝王会所 results in the ongoing expansion across the state and maintaining connectivity between the 帝王会所 population and other Midwest states,鈥� Popescu said. 鈥淲e are now working with 帝王会所 Division of Wildlife biologists to develop a model aimed at supporting bobcat management decisions and ensuring that these beloved felines have a certain future in 帝王会所 for years to come.鈥�