The Iberian Lynx
As the example of the Madagascar fish eagle shows, a change in the physical environment can have an impact on the entire ecosystem. So can a change in a biological component.
In most ecosystems, predators have more than one food source. Some predators are highly specialized feeders. This means they eat one specific type of prey. When this prey is plentiful, a highly specialized predator will do well. However, any threat to the prey population will threaten the survival of the predator.
The Iberian lynx is the apex predator of its ecosystem in southwestern Spain. It is also a highly specialized feeder. This wild cat species prefers wild European rabbits to all other animals.
As you watch this video, listen to what happened to the European rabbit and the impact this had on the Iberian lynx population.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
Statistics
- Size: 26–36 in. long, 18–36 lbs.
- Diet: mainly European rabbits, but also rodents, small deer, and certain birds if rabbits are scarce
- Natural predators: none
- Range: two separate populations in southwestern Spain
- Population: 100–150 individuals in the wild
- Why endangered: decrease in prey; also habitat loss, poaching (illegal hunting), and diseases
Did You Know?
- Each adult lynx needs to eat, on average, one rabbit per day. Its main competition for rabbits, the fox, has a more varied diet.
- This lynx was once numerous throughout the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
- In 2002, fewer than 50 adults remained in Spain, while none were detected in Portugal.
JOEL (voiceover): I’ve come to Spain on assignment for National Geographic magazine, to shoot one of the rarest small cats in the world. This Mediterranean scrubland—similar to the chapparal in California—is home to the Iberian lynx. They’re a top predator here. And at about 30 pounds, they’re three times the size of the average housecat. Just 15 years ago, their numbers were fewer than a hundred.
To understand what happened to the Iberian lynx, you first need to know the twisted tale of the European rabbit. That’s because the rabbit makes up about 90 percent of the lynx’s diet.
Back in 1952, in France, a man in retirement was tired of rabbits eating away his country garden. And he wasn’t alone. That man had retired from a career in infectious diseases, and he had a plan: he released something called the myxoma virus, and his wild European rabbit problem quickly disappeared. But within two years, so did 90 percent of the wild rabbits in France. It may seem strange today, but back then, he was a hero . . . and even got a medal. But as they celebrated, the virus spread to nearby Spain and Portugal, and wild rabbit populations crashed. Then, in the 1980s, another deadly virus swept the region, knocking rabbit numbers even lower. By 2014, 80 to 90 percent of rabbits on the Iberian Peninsula were gone, and the population of the Iberian lynx was in real peril.
Take Notes
In the space below, write short responses to the following:
- What evidence in the video supports the idea that a drop in prey species caused a change in the Iberian lynx population?
- What additional evidence would you need to support the claim that this disruption caused the Iberian lynx population to also drop?
