Abstract
The distribution and abundance of animals among habitats and their relative performance in those habitats are crucial for population dynamics and the understanding of how animals vary in space and time. Linking habitat selection and demography is thus important not only for the understanding of behavioural ecology but also for the understanding of population dynamics and how animals vary in space and time. Proper understanding of habitat selection is increasingly important today when human activities and environmental change may result in habitat selection becoming decoupled from habitat suitability (i.e. creation of ecological traps and attractive sinks). This study will (1) evaluate demographic consequences of how lynx select and use space and (2) use this information to model population dynamics of lynx in variable environments. Part of this study will also evaluate (A) the interaction between habitat quality and demography of large carnivores in northern Sweden (lynx, wolverines, and brown bears) and (B) the importance of national parks for protection of these species. Such information is important for the understanding of how animals vary in space and time and provides important knowledge for sustainable management and conservation of large carnivores in Scandinavia. For example, identification of critical habitats (e.g. good reproductive sites or sites with high mortality) will be very valuable for proper management and conservation strategies.
Sweden