*2.2. Study Design*

The ecology of lynx predation on roe deer has been studied in the region since 2000 by (1) following VHF- and GPS-collared lynx to find kills, (2) snow-tracking unmarked lynx to find kills and (3) regularly monitoring marked roe deer to determine the timing and cause of death [32,33]. Field procedures are described in Nilsen et al. 2009 [32]. This work led us to locate and mark the kill-sites of roe deer that had been killed and at least partially consumed by lynx. Permissions were granted by the Norwegian Environment Agency and procedures were approved by the Norwegian Committee for Experimental Animal Welfare (permit numbers 08/127430, 07/81885, 07/7883, 2004/48647, 201/01/641.5/FHB, 127/03/641.5/fhb, 1460/99/641.5/FBe, 1081/97/641.5/FBe, and NINA 1/95).

Soil and vegetation samples were simultaneously collected at the end of the growing season (between the 29th of June and the 29th of July) in 2004 from 18 carcass sites, where six of the roe deer were killed by lynx in winter (October–April) and 12 in summer (May–September). The samples were taken 20–29 months after death, following the methods described in Melis et al. [20]. The samples were taken along a line with the carcass as the center, at distances of 0, 0.5, 2 and 20 m extending in opposite directions from the center of the carcass. The head to tail length of a roe deer is between 95 and 135 cm, and lynx and other scavengers can move roe deer carcasses slightly while feeding on them, so the distances from the center to 0.5 m were considered as being directly influenced by the carcass. The sample at 20 m was considered not to be affected by the carcass and was used as a control. When we visited the carcass site after the lynx had left (Figure 1a,b), we documented how much of the kill was left, as well as ground vegetation and forest type. We marked the carcass site with a pole and a label (Figure 1a,c,d) at the middle point and took pictures to be able to find again the exact carcass position. In 16 of the 18 carcasses, the lynx had removed 90% of the meat according to our visual estimation several days after the lynx had abandoned the kill. The direction of the sample line was chosen so that it fell parallel to the contour of the landscape, rather than perpendicular to the slope. The samples from both sides were merged for each distance for analysis. The control sample at 20 m was taken within the same vegetation type as the carcass was at. The litter was removed and a 2 × 2 × 5 cm (length × width × depth) sample of soil was taken from the surface. Fresh green leaves were collected (3–5 g dry weight per sample) from the most common plants present at the sites (wavy hair-grass, *Avenella flexuosa*, and bilberry, *Vaccinium myrtillus*). The combination of nutrient leaching, pH shock (a rapid increase in pH) and blocking of light and oxygen by the physical presence of the carcass killed the vegetation directly under the carcass (Figure 1c), as described in [25]. This effect could last for more than two years (Figure 1d). Therefore, we were not always able to collect vegetation samples at the center.

**Figure 1.** Roe deer carcass sites in southeastern Norway. (**a**,**b**) Carcass sites visited as soon as the lynx left the kill. Both the carcasses had been fed on by lynx for four nights, and the images were taken two and six days after the lynx had abandoned the kill. (**c**,**d**) The same carcass site (**c**) one month and (**d**) two years ca. after death. In (**a**,**c**,**d**), it is possible to see the labeled pole marking the center of the carcass.
