A decade of systematic camera trapping in two strictly protected areas reveals the demography of a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) population in Central Europe

Abstract Large carnivores are crucial for ecosystems but are increasingly threatened by human persecution and habitat destruction. Successful conservation of this guild requires information on long-term population dynamics through the demographic surveys. We camera trapped Eurasian lynx between 2009 and 2018 in two strictly protected areas in the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem, estimating sex-specific demographic parameters using spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models as well as the relative abundance index of its prey species and a mesopredator seeking potential drivers of lynx population dynamics. Over 48 677 trap nights, we detected 65 lynx individuals. Density increased to 1.31 and 2.39 individuals/100 km2 for open and closed population SCR models, respectively, with positive population growth rates. Survival rates were high (females 83%, males 88%) and per capita recruitment was low (females 13%, males 9%), indicating a low yearly population turnover. Reproductive parameters showed successful reproduction. Our results reveal the importance of the study area as host to a saturated population and key source for the potential lynx metapopulation. The observed increasing lynx number is most likely represented by dispersing individuals due to reduced mortality outside the protected areas as the number of reproducing females inside remained constant. In what is the first open population SCR study on lynx, we provide demographic parameters contributing to the development of model-based population viability forecasting and inform lynx management in the study area as well as in similar contexts.