Study area
We conducted this study within nine different counties in Norway, representing a gradient of landscape productivity and human influence from Troms & Finnmark County in the north (68° N), to Agder County in the south (58° N) (Figure 1). The southern areas are in general more fragmented, with forested areas intermixed with agricultural fields and scattered human settlements, whereas the northern areas are less productive with boreal forests and alpine tundra. Forests are dominated by conifers, mainly Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris ) and Norway spruce (Picea abies ), intermixed with deciduous species such as birch (Betula pubescens and B. pendula ), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia ), aspen (Populus tremula ), gray alder (Alnus incana ), and willow (Salix caprea ), which are more abundant in the south. Mean annual temperatures decrease with latitude, being milder in the south (annual mean temperature 7.8°C in Kristiansand) than in the north (annual mean temperature -0.2°C in Tromsø) (no.climate-data.org), and winter severity (i.e. snow depth and low temperatures) increases with latitude and altitude. Human population densities range from 1642.7 inhabitants per km2 in Oslo County to 3.4 inhabitants per km2 in Troms & Finnmark (www.ssb.no). Lynx can potentially be found across the entire study area but in higher densities in the southernmost areas. Wolves are restricted to the wolf management zone in southeastern Norway (Figure 1). Wolf density outside the wolf management zone is practically zero, as wolves outside the zone are culled as part of management plans.