The Ecological and Societal Roles of the Eurasian Lynx: Evidence and Assumptions

Introduction

Apex predators exert top-down pressure on food webs that can shape ecosystem dynamics, while also holding symbolic and utilitarian value for human communities. As human impacts increase, understanding these ecological and societal roles becomes increasingly important for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management.

Hypothesis

Among apex predators, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx; hereafter “lynx”) stands out for its relatively low conflict potential and broad public acceptance. Tolerance of lynx could maintain or help restore ecosystem processes in increasingly human-modified landscapes. Far-reaching ecological functions are frequently documented for large carnivores and often postulated for the lynx, yet the evidence base has never been systematically compiled.

Methods

We synthesised research on the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of the lynx to evaluate its role in contemporary ecosystems. Given the few studies available, we qualitatively assessed the ecological effects of lynx, including trophic interactions and symbolic roles.

Discussion

Lynx influence prey and mesopredator populations both consumptively and non-consumptively, though consumptive trophic cascades were observed only in northern regions, and non-consumptive trophic cascades only at fine timescales when perceived predation risk was elevated. Socioeconomic research has focused mainly on burdens associated with lynx, that is, “disservices”, like livestock predation, with less attention to potential benefits, like herbivore limitation in silviculture, that may constitute ecosystem services. Lynx hold intrinsic value for most people but their assumed roles as flagship or umbrella species, remain weakly evidenced and for some stakeholders the lynx may have a counter-role.

Conclusions

We conclude that the lynx's ecological and societal importance likely exceeds current literature, but key assumptions about its ecosystem functions remain insufficiently tested. We urge interdisciplinary research leveraging ongoing translocations and ecological gradients, including Asia, to test lynx effects and clarify their full contribution to ecosystem functioning and biodiversity in the Anthropocene.