Clarifying space use concepts in ecology: range vs. occurrence distributions

Alston, Jesse M.; Fleming, Christen H.; Noonan, Michael; Tucker, Marlee A.; Silva, Inês; Folta, Cody; Akre, Thomas S.; Ali, Abdullahi H.; Belant, Jerrold L.; Beyer, Dean E.; Blaum, Niels; Boehning-Gaese, Katrin; Paula, Rogério Cunha de; Dekker, Jasja; Drescher‐Lehman, Jonathan; Farwig, Nina; Fichtel, Claudia; Fischer, Christina; Ford, Adam T.; Janßen, René; Jeltsch, Florian; Kappeler, Peter M.; LaPoint, Scott D.; Markham, A. Catherine; Medici, Patrícia; Morato, Ronaldo Gonçalves; Nathan, Ran; Olson, Kirk A.; Patterson, Bruce D.; Petroelje, Tyler R.; Ramalho, Emiliano Esterci; Rösner, Sascha; Santos, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira; Schabo, Dana G.; Selva, Nuria; Sergiel, Agnieszka; Spiegel, Orr; Ullman, Wiebke; Zwijacz‐Kozica, Tomasz; Wittemyer, George; Fagan, William F.; Mueller, Thomas; Calabrese, Justin M.

doi:10.1101/2022.09.29.509951

Cited by 15 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Dynamic Brownian bridge movement models estimate the uncertainty surrounding movement pathways taken between known locations. The area estimates (or confidence areas) that dBBMM generate are considered an occurrence distribution (i.e., interpolation within a sampling period) that contrast with the use distributions provided by AKDEs (i.e., extrapolation to a full home range for an animal; Alston et al, 2022). Here we use dBBMM as a comparison of the potential areas the snakes could have reached between recorded locations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stuck in the weeds: Invasive grasses reduce tiger snake movement

Cornelis

Cooper

Lettoof

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Wetlands are particularly vulnerable to degradation in urban environments, partially due to the introduction of non-native plants. Invasive weeds in wetlands can replace native plants leading to alterations in habitat composition and vegetation, in turn, animal movements and ultimately population dynamics might be affected. Here we investigate how home range size and movements of western tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus occidentalis) differ in wetlands dominated by invasive kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) compared to wetlands dominated by native vegetation to understand if and how the movement ecology of this top-order predator is altered by vegetation homogenization. To do so, we used Autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimators (AKDE) to estimate home range size, dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models to document movement trajectory confidence areas, and compared movement distances using a Bayesian regression model. Home range sizes by tiger snakes were 14.59 ± 9.35 ha smaller in areas dominated by invasive versus native vegetation. Moreover, within-day movement distances tended to be smaller in areas dominated by invasive versus native vegetation (mean ± SD: 9 ± 3 m versus 18 ± 6 m), but there was considerable overlap between the 95% credible intervals between these two groups. Smaller home ranges by tiger snakes in areas dominated by invasive kikuyu grass were likely driven by thermoregulation, with snakes moving vertically between basking locations on top of kikuyu and shelter sites at the base, rather than travelling horizontally along the ground to open basking areas in sites dominated by native vegetation. Additionally, fragmentation of sites dominated by invasive vegetation might have contributed to the comparatively smaller home ranges of snakes there. These findings add to our understanding how changes in habitat composition driven by invasive vegetation can affect animal space use and emphasise the need for further studies to understand how these changes affect population dynamics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stuck in the weeds: Invasive grasses reduce tiger snake movement

Cornelis

Cooper

Lettoof

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…A benefit of the dBBMM is that it calculates the Brownian motion variance parameter depending on the characteristics of the local movement trajectory, which allows for robust space use estimation when there are behavioural changes (Kranstauber et al, 2012). We opted for an occurrence distribution estimator (Alston et al, 2022) as we were answering the question of where did the animal go during a specified period of time, which was more applicable for assessing risk in this case. The dBBMM method requires the user to input a window size, which is the number of locations that characterise the local movement behaviour, and a margin size where no behavioural breakpoints can be estimated but that is required to calculate the likelihood.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home range and dynamic space use reveals age-related differences in risk exposure for reintroduced parrots

Forrest

Recio

Seddon

2022

Preprint

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Individual-level differences in animal spatial behaviour have been identified in numerous species, which can lead to differential exposure to risk for different groups, particularly for reintroduced species in fragmented landscapes. To assess the risk-exposure of a population of kākā (Nestor meridionalis) reintroduced into a fenced reserve, we GPS-tracked 10 individuals and estimated their home ranges and temporal space use variability (SUV). We compared home range area (within 95% contour of utilisation distribution - UD95) between individuals in relation to age, sex, and fledging origin, and assessed risk exposure by calculating the proportion of each individual's home range beyond the reserve's fence. To estimate temporal variability within each individual's space use, we used a sweeping window framework to estimate occurrence distributions of temporally overlapping snapshots of the movement trajectory. For each occurrence distribution, we calculated the proportion outside the reserve's fence to assess how risk exposure changed throughout time, and the UD95area and UD95centroid to assess the behavioural pattern of space use. Home range area declined significantly and consistently with age (up to 27-fold differences), and the space use of juvenile kākā was more temporally dynamic, particularly in relation to drift of the UD95centroid. The wider-ranging behaviour of younger kākā resulted in more time spent outside the reserve, which aligned with a higher number of incidental mortality observations of younger individuals. Quantifying both the home range and space use variability of populations that may encounter spatially dependent threats is an effective approach to assess risk exposure, which can provide guidance for management interventions. We also emphasise the temporal space use variability approach, which is a flexible approach that can provide numerous insights and has not been widely adopted in the literature. We provide code and data such that all the analyses in this study can be reproduced.

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“…To comprehensively assess the tracking method's influence on the interpretation of individual space use and movement, we estimated both occurrence distributions and range distributions, collectively referred to here as 'utilization distributions' (UDs). The occurrence distribution (OD) quantifies the uncertainty of an individual's movement path and can essentially provide a measure of how well each telemetry method estimates the movement of the individual [70,71]. The range distribution (RD) quantifies the predicted future space use and is synonymous with the traditional definition of an individual's home range [70][71][72].…”

Section: Space Use Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The occurrence distribution (OD) quantifies the uncertainty of an individual's movement path and can essentially provide a measure of how well each telemetry method estimates the movement of the individual [70,71]. The range distribution (RD) quantifies the predicted future space use and is synonymous with the traditional definition of an individual's home range [70][71][72]. Both ODs and RDs provide important yet distinct information on individual space use [71].…”

Section: Space Use Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing acoustic and satellite telemetry: an analysis quantifying the space use of Chelonia mydas in Bimini, Bahamas

Hardin,

Cullen,

Fuentes

2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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Passive acoustic and Argos satellite telemetry are common methods for tracking marine species and are often used similarly to quantify space use. However, data-driven comparisons of these methods and their associated ecological inferences are limited. To address this, we compared temporal durations, spatial resolutions, financial costs and estimates of occurrence and range distributions for each tracking approach using nine juvenile green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) in Bimini, Bahamas. Tracking durations were similar, although acoustic tracking provided higher spatiotemporal resolution than satellite tracking. Occurrence distributions (95%) estimated from satellite telemetry were 12 times larger than those from acoustic telemetry, while satellite range distributions (95%) were 89 times larger. While individuals generally remained within the extent of the acoustic receiver array, gaps in coverage were identified. These gaps, combined with the lower accuracy of satellite telemetry, were likely drivers for the larger satellite distributions. Costs differed between telemetry methods, with acoustic telemetry being less expensive at larger sample sizes with a previously established array. Our results suggest that acoustic and satellite telemetry may not provide similar inferences of individual space use. As such, we provide recommendations to identify telemetry methods appropriate for specific study objectives and provide discussion on the biases of each.

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Clarifying space use concepts in ecology: range vs. occurrence distributions

Cited by 15 publications

References 87 publications

Stuck in the weeds: Invasive grasses reduce tiger snake movement

Stuck in the weeds: Invasive grasses reduce tiger snake movement

Home range and dynamic space use reveals age-related differences in risk exposure for reintroduced parrots

Comparing acoustic and satellite telemetry: an analysis quantifying the space use of Chelonia mydas in Bimini, Bahamas

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