DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9kd51c5wx
title: Data from: Variability in the movement and foraging behaviour of female Eurasian lynx during the denning season across Europe

description: Animal movement and reproductive behaviour are crucial components of
 ecological and evolutionary processes. After parturition, the behaviour of
 reproducing females adapts to the needs of their offspring, including
 thermoregulation, protection, and food provisioning. However, little is
 known about how these adaptations vary across environmental conditions at
 larger scales in species with large distribution ranges. Here, we explored
 how female Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) movement and predation patterns
 change during the denning season. We analysed GPS telemetry data from two
 different climatic regions in Europe, cold and temperate, and evaluated
 the effect of explanatory variables on movement metrics and kill-to-den
 distances using generalized additive mixed models. Female lynx moved
 significantly longer daily distances in the cold region (central and
 northern Scandinavia) compared to the temperate region (southern
 Scandinavia and continental Europe), both before and after parturition.
 Reproducing females in both regions considerably reduced their movement
 after the start of the denning season. The typical pattern of increasing
 daily movements and decreasing time spent at the den with time persisted
 across regions, and the presence of females at the den followed a similar
 circadian rhythm, regardless of the markedly different daylight period.
 Only in the cold region females increased the distances of their
 excursions from the den as time passed. The distances between den and kill
 sites spanned from 1 to 3 km over the latitudinal range. The kill-to-den
 distances did not increase with time, but in the cold region the larger
 prey killsites were farther from the den than in the temperate region.
 Overall, our results show how some behaviours of female lynx during the
 denning season remain constant over a large latitudinal range, while
 others vary. This suggests local adaptations to particular environments,
 and possible increased energetic demands of reproducing females in more
 extreme environmental conditions.
description: # Data from: Variability in the movement and foraging behaviour of female
 Eurasian lynx during the denning season across Europe  This README file
 describes the provided datasets for the R analysis of Eurasian lynx den
 movement patterns, den use and feeding behaviour during the denning
 season, through Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). ### File name:
 den_duration_dataset.xlsx Dataset Title: Data for the analysis of the
 duration of use of Eurasian lynx dens across Europe. **Description of the
 data and file structure** According to our paper, this dataset contains
 the information required to run the GAM models related to duration of use
 of lynx dens. It includes cluster id for each den (cluster_id), animal id
 (animal_id), climatic region (region), indication of whether the den was
 verified in the field (field_confirmed_den), den type (den_type), date of
 the start of use of each den (date_use_start), last date of use of each
 den (date_use_end), duration of use of each den (duration_den_use), dennig
 season id (animal_year), denning home range (aKDE_denning_hr). All these
 variables were derived from GPS location data. Please check the
 publication for details. * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 21.86 KB *
 Dimensions: 161 rows x 10 columns * Variables: * cluster_id - Unique ID
 for each GPS Location Cluster (GLC) associated with a den. * aimal_id -
 Unique ID for each female lynx individual. * region - Climatic region
 where each den is found; 'north_clim' - cold region,
 'temp_clim' - temperate region. * field_confirmed_den -
 Indication of whether the den was checked in the field by researchers;
 'NO'- the den was not checked in the field, 'YES' -
 the den was checked in the field by researchers. We only included
 non-field checked dens in the analysis (rows where the
 'field_confirmed_den' variable has the value 'NO'). *
 den_type - Type of the den; 'natal' - the first den, where the
 kittens are born; 'secodary' - all other dens where the female
 may later move the kittens. * date_use_start - Date corresponding to the
 first GPS fix within the GLC of the den. * date_use_end - Date
 corresponding to the last GPS fix within the GLC of the den. *
 duration_den_use - Number of days between the first GPS fix and the last
 GPS fix of the GLC of the den. * animal_year - Unique ID for each denning
 season of each female lynx individual. * aKDE_denning_hr - Denning
 seasonal home range, in square kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth
 of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all fixes included
 within the two months of the denning season of each individual lynx. The
 denning season home ranges were only calculated if there were at least 30
 GPS points and 10 days of GPS data available. If these conditions were not
 met, the corresponding cells within this column were left empty. ###
 **File name: daily_distances_dataset.xlsx** Dataset Title : Data for the
 analysis of the distances moved per day by female Eurasian lynx during the
 denning season across Europe **Description of the data and file
 structure** This dataset contains the information required to run the GAM
 models related to daily distances moved by female lynx, accordingly to our
 paper. It includes climatic region (region), lynx individual id
 (animal_id), denning season id (aimal_year), date (date), distance moved
 (daily_distace_moved), dataset type (dataset), number of days to or from
 the birth date of the kittens (diff_tempo), reproductive status (kittens),
 proportion of missing locations per day (na_proportion). All these
 variables were derived from GPS location data. Please check the
 publication for details. * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 458.56 KB *
 Dimensions: 9265 rows x 9 columns * Variables: * region - Climatic region
 where each den is found; 'north_clim' - cold region,
 'temp_clim' - temperate region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each
 female lynx individual. * animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season
 of each female lynx individual. * date - Date expressed in YYYY-mm-dd *
 daily_distance_moved - Distance moved per day, in meters. * dataset -
 dataset type; 'full' - all GPS resolutions above 6 fixes/24
 hours are icluded, 'stand' - data standardized by subsampling
 the data from the 'full' dataset to 6 GPS fixes per 24 hours. *
 diff_tempo - Day within the pre-denning and the denning seasons. The
 negative values indicate the number of days to the birth-date of the
 kittens within the pre-denning period, and the positive values indicate
 the umber of days from the birth date, within the denning season. *
 kittens - reproductive status of the female lynx; 'no' - female
 did not reproduce (reproduction event not detected), 'yes' -
 female reproduced. * na_proportion - proportion of missing GPS fixes per
 24 hours. ### **File name: daily_distances_12_fix_resolution_df.xlsx**
 **Dataset Title: Data for the analysis of the distances moved per day by
 female Eurasian lynx during the denning season across Europe, with a raw
 GPS resolution of 12 fixes/ 24 hours in the full dataset** **Description
 of the data and file structure** This dataset is a subsample of the
 previous dataset containing the information required to run the GAM models
 related to daily distances moved by female lynx. Specifically we selected
 the resolution of 12 GPS fixes per day in the full dataset and the
 corresponding data in the standardized dataset, accordingly to our paper.
 * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 91.35 KB * Dimensions: 1838 rows x 9 columns
 * Variables: * region - Climatic region where each den is found;
 'north_clim' - cold region, 'temp_clim' - temperate
 region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each female lynx individual. *
 animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season of each female lynx
 individual. * date - Date expressed in YYYY-mm-dd * daily_distance_moved -
 Distance moved per day, in meters. * dataset - dataset type;
 'full' - data with a raw GPS resolution of 12 fixes per 24
 hours, 'stand' - data standardized by subsampling the data from
 the 'full' dataset to 6 GPS fixes per 24 hours. * diff_tempo -
 Day within the pre-denning and the denning seasons. The negative values
 indicate the number of days to the birth-date of the kittens within the
 pre-denning period, and the positive values indicate the umber of days
 from the birth date, within the denning season. * kittens - reproductive
 status of the female lynx; 'no' - female did not reproduce
 (reproduction event not detected), 'yes' - female reproduced. *
 na_proportion - proportion of missing GPS fixes per 24 hours. ### **File
 name: absence_from_den_dataset.xlsx** **Dataset Title : Data for the
 analysis of female Eurasian lynx absence from the den during the denning
 season across Europe** **Description of the data and file structure** This
 dataset contains the information required to run the GAM models related to
 the absence from the den of female Eurasian lynx, accordingly to our
 paper. It includes date (date), climatic region (region), lynx individual
 id (animal_id), denning season id (animal_year), dataset type (dataset),
 absence of the female from the den (absence_from_den), number of days to
 or from the birth date of the kittens (diff_tempo), hour of the day
 (hour), annual home range (aKDE_annual_hr), pre-denning home range
 (aKDE_pre_denning_hr), denning home range (aKDE_denning_hr). All these
 variables were derived from GPS location data. Please check the
 publication for details. * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 1.02 MB *
 Dimensions: 26147 rows x 11 columns * Variables: * date - Date expressed
 in YYYY-mm-dd. * region - Climatic region where each den is found;
 'north_clim' - cold region, 'temp_clim' - temperate
 region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each female lynx individual. *
 animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season of each female lynx
 individual. * dataset - dataset type; 'full' - all GPS
 resolutions above 6 fixes/24 hours are icluded, 'stand' - data
 standardized by subsampling the data from the 'full' dataset to
 6 GPS fixes per 24 hours. * absence_from_the_den - absence of the female
 lynx from the den; '0'- the female lynx is within 100 m of
 distance from her active den, '1' - the female lynx is more than
 100 m away from her active den. * diff_tempo - Day within the denning
 season. It indicates the number of days passed from the birth date. * hour
 - hour of the day. * aKDE_annual_hr - Annual home range, in square
 kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel
 Density Estimation with all within one year for each individual lynx. *
 aKDE_pre_denning_hr - Pre-denning seasonal home range, in square
 kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel
 Density Estimation with all fixes included within the 30 days of the
 pre-denning season for each individual lynx. The pre-denning season home
 ranges were only calculated if there were at least 30 GPS points and 10
 days of GPS data available. If these conditions were not met the
 corresponding cells within this column were left empty. * aKDE_denning_hr
 - Denning seasonal home range, in square kilometers, determined as the 95%
 isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all fixes
 included within the two months of the denning season for each individual
 lynx. The denning season home ranges were only calculated if there were at
 least 30 GPS points and 10 days of GPS data available. If these conditions
 were not met the corresponding cells within this column were left empty.
 ### **File name: absence_from_den_dataset_12_fix.xlsx** **Dataset Title :
 Data for the analysis of female Eurasian lynx absence from the den during
 the denning season across Europe, with a raw GPS resolution of 12 fixes/
 24 hours in the full dataset** **Description of the data and file
 structure** This dataset is a subsample of the previous dataset containing
 the information required to run the GAM models related to the absence from
 the den of female Eurasian lynx. Specifically we selected the resolution
 of 12 GPS fixes per day in the full dataset and the corresponding data in
 the standardized dataset, accordingly to our paper. * Format(s): .xlsx *
 Size(s): 254.1 KB * Dimensions: 6743 rows x 11 columns * Variables: * date
 - Date expressed in YYYY-mm-dd. * region - Climatic region where each den
 is found; 'north_clim' - cold region, 'temp_clim' -
 temperate region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each female lynx individual.
 * animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season of each female lynx
 individual. * dataset - dataset type; 'full' - data with a raw
 GPS resolution of 12 fixes per 24 hours, 'stand' - data
 standardized by subsampling the data from the 'full' dataset to
 6 GPS fixes per 24 hours. * absence_from_the_den - absence of the female
 lynx from the den; '0'- the female lynx is within 100 m of
 distance from her active den, '1' - the female lynx is more than
 100 m away from her active den. * diff_tempo - Day within the denning
 season. It indicates the number of days passed from the birth date. * hour
 - hour of the day. * aKDE_annual_hr - Annual home range, in square
 kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel
 Density Estimation with all within one year for each individual lynx. *
 aKDE_pre_denning_hr - Pre-denning seasonal home range, in square
 kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel
 Density Estimation with all fixes included within the 30 days of the
 pre-denning season for each individual lynx. The pre-denning season home
 ranges were only calculated if there were at least 30 GPS points and 10
 days of GPS data available. If these conditions were not met the
 corresponding cells within this column were left empty. * aKDE_denning_hr
 - Denning seasonal home range, in square kilometers, determined as the 95%
 isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all fixes
 included within the two months of the denning season for each individual
 lynx. The denning season home ranges were only calculated if there were at
 least 30 GPS points and 10 days of GPS data available. If these conditions
 were not met the corresponding cells within this column were left empty.
 ### **File name: distances_from_den_dataset.xlsx** **Dataset Title : Data
 for the analysis of the distances from the den of female Eurasian lynx
 during the denning season across Europe** **Description of the data and
 file structure** This dataset contains the information required to run the
 GAM models related to the distances from the den of female Eurasian lynx,
 accordingly to our paper. It includes date (date), climatic region
 (region), lynx individual id (animal_id), denning season id (animal_year),
 distance from the den (dist_den), dataset type (dataset), number of days
 to or from the birth date of the kittens (diff_tempo), hour of the day
 (hour), annual home range (aKDE_annual_hr), pre-denning home range
 (aKDE_pre_denning_hr), denning home range (aKDE_denning_hr). All these
 variables were derived from GPS location data. Please check the
 publication for details. * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 435.37 KB *
 Dimensions: 8692 rows x 11 columns * Variables: * date - Date expressed in
 YYYY-mm-dd. * region - Climatic region where each den is found;
 'north_clim' - cold region, 'temp_clim' - temperate
 region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each female lynx individual. *
 animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season of each female lynx
 individual. * dist_den - Distance from the location of the den, in meters.
 * dataset - dataset type; 'full' - all GPS resolutions above 6
 fixes/24 hours are icluded, 'stand' - data standardized by
 subsampling the data from the 'full' dataset to 6 GPS fixes per
 24 hours.\ * diff_tempo - Day within the denning season. It indicates the
 number of days passed from the birth date. * hour - hour of the day. *
 aKDE_annual_hr - Annual home range, in square kilometers, determined as
 the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all
 within one year for each individual lynx. * aKDE_pre_denning_hr -
 Pre-denning seasonal home range, in square kilometers, determined as the
 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all
 fixes included within the 30 days of the pre-denning season for each
 individual lynx. The pre-denning season home ranges were only calculated
 if there were at least 30 GPS points and 10 days of GPS data available. If
 these conditions were not met the corresponding cells within this column
 were left empty. * aKDE_denning_hr - Denning seasonal home range, in
 square kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated
 Kernel Density Estimation with all fixes included within the two months of
 the denning season for each individual lynx. The denning season home
 ranges were only calculated if there were at least 30 GPS points and 10
 days of GPS data available. If these conditions were not met the
 corresponding cells within this column were left empty. ### **File name:
 distances_from_den_dataset_12fix.xlsx** **Dataset Title : Data for the
 analysis of the distances from the den of female Eurasian lynx during the
 denning season across Europe, with a raw GPS resolution of 12 fixes/ 24
 hours in the full dataset** **Description of the data and file structure**
 This dataset is a subsample of the previous dataset containing the
 information required to run the GAM models related to the distances from
 the den of female Eurasian lynx. Specifically, we selected the resolution
 of 12 GPS fixes per day in the full dataset and the corresponding data in
 the standardized dataset, accordingly to our paper. * Format(s): .xlsx *
 Size(s): 106.37 KB * Dimensions: 2105 rows x 11 columns * Variables: *
 date - Date expressed in YYYY-mm-dd. * region - Climatic region where each
 den is found; 'north_clim' - cold region, 'temp_clim'
 - temperate region. * animal_id - Unique ID for each female lynx
 individual. * animal_year - Unique ID for each denning season of each
 female lynx individual. * dist_den - Distance from the location of the
 den, in meters. * dataset - dataset type; 'full' - data with a
 raw GPS resolution of 12 fixes per 24 hours, 'stand' - data
 standardized by subsampling the data from the 'full' dataset to
 6 GPS fixes per 24 hours.\ * diff_tempo - Day within the denning season.
 It indicates the number of days passed from the birth date. * hour - hour
 of the day. * aKDE_annual_hr - Annual home range, in square kilometers,
 determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density
 Estimation with all within one year for each individual lynx. *
 aKDE_pre_denning_hr - Pre-denning seasonal home range, in square
 kilometers, determined as the 95% isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel
 Density Estimation with all fixes included within the 30 days of the
 pre-denning season for each individual lynx. The pre-denning season home
 ranges were only calculated if there were at least 30 GPS points and 10
 days of GPS data available. If these conditions were not met the
 corresponding cells within this column were left empty. * aKDE_denning_hr
 - Denning seasonal home range, in square kilometers, determined as the 95%
 isopleth of the autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation with all fixes
 included within the two months of the denning season for each individual
 lynx. The denning season home ranges were only calculated if there were at
 least 30 GPS points and 10 days of GPS data available. If these conditions
 were not met the corresponding cells within this column were left empty.
 ### **File name: kill_dens_df.xlsx** **Dataset Title : Data for the
 analysis of the kill-to-den distances for female Eurasian lynx during the
 denning season across Europe** **Description of the data and file
 structure** This dataset contains the information required to run the GAM
 models related to the distances from the den of female Eurasian lynx,
 accordingly to our paper. It includes date (date_estimated), lynx
 individual id (animal_id), den id (den_id), distance between killsite and
 den (kill_to_den_distance), date of the firstGPS fix within the cluster of
 the den (den_use_start), number of days to or from the date of start of
 use of the den (time_since_den), prey type (prey_type), climatic region
 (region). All these variables were derived from GPS location data and from
 field checking of the GLCs related to killsites. Please check the
 publication for details. * Format(s): .xlsx * Size(s): 12.02 KB *
 Dimensions: 140 rows x 8 columns * Variables: * date_estimated - Estimated
 date of predation related to the killsite. * animal_id - Unique ID for
 each female lynx individual. * den_id - Unique ID for each den. *
 kill_to_den_distance - Distance, in meters, between the location of the
 killsite and the correspondig active den. * den_use_start - Date
 correspondig to the first GPS fix within the GLC of the den. *
 time_since_den - Number of days passed since the establishmet of the den.
 * prey_type - Prey type in relation to size; 'small_prey' - prey
 less than 7 Kg, 'ungulates' - ugulate prey above 7 Kg. * region
 - Climatic region where each den is found; 'Cold' - cold region,
 'Temperate' - temperate region. --- ## Contact Information *
 Name: Naima Dalpiaz * Affiliations: Biotechnical Faculty, University of
 Ljubljana, Slovenia * ORCID ID:
 [[https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7072-4840](https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7072-4840)] * Email: [[dalpiaznaima@gmail.com](mailto:dalpiaznaima@gmail.com)] --- **Additional Dataset Metadata** **Acknowledgements** * We obtained tracking data through the EUROLYNX network ([https://euromammals.org/eurolynx/](https://euromammals.org/eurolynx/)). This is the paper number 8 in the EUROLYNX series. We would like to thank all EUROLYNX members for the stimulating discussions. We are extremely grateful to all the personnel involved in data collection (veterinarians, field technicians, researchers, hunters, rangers, volunteers, and students), including lynx capturing and collaring, as well as field-checking of GPS clusters. ## Dates and Locations * Dates of data collection: Field data for all study areas collected in several periods between 2004 and 2022. * Geographic locations of data collection: Fieldwork conducted in several areas across a large latitudinal gradient in Europe (see publication and Figure 1 for more details).