Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles
Abstract Background Animals of many different species, trophic levels, and life history strategies migrate, and the improvement of animal tracking technology allows ecologists to collect increasing amounts of detailed data on these movements. Understanding when animals migrate is important for manag...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Movement Ecology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00444-8 |
| _version_ | 1797355453078831104 |
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| author | Peter R. Thompson Peter D. Harrington Conor D. Mallory Subhash R. Lele Erin M. Bayne Andrew E. Derocher Mark A. Edwards Mitch Campbell Mark A. Lewis |
| author_facet | Peter R. Thompson Peter D. Harrington Conor D. Mallory Subhash R. Lele Erin M. Bayne Andrew E. Derocher Mark A. Edwards Mitch Campbell Mark A. Lewis |
| author_sort | Peter R. Thompson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Animals of many different species, trophic levels, and life history strategies migrate, and the improvement of animal tracking technology allows ecologists to collect increasing amounts of detailed data on these movements. Understanding when animals migrate is important for managing their populations, but is still difficult despite modelling advancements. Methods We designed a model that parametrically estimates the timing of migration from animal tracking data. Our model identifies the beginning and end of migratory movements as signaled by change-points in step length and turning angle distributions. To this end, we can also use the model to estimate how an animal’s movement changes when it begins migrating. In addition to a thorough simulation analysis, we tested our model on three datasets: migratory ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) in the Great Plains, barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) in northern Canada, and non-migratory brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the Canadian Arctic. Results Our simulation analysis suggests that our model is most useful for datasets where an increase in movement speed or directional autocorrelation is clearly detectable. We estimated the beginning and end of migration in caribou and hawks to the nearest day, while confirming a lack of migratory behaviour in the brown bears. In addition to estimating when caribou and ferruginous hawks migrated, our model also identified differences in how they migrated; ferruginous hawks achieved efficient migrations by drastically increasing their movement rates while caribou migration was achieved through significant increases in directional persistence. Conclusions Our approach is applicable to many animal movement studies and includes parameters that can facilitate comparison between different species or datasets. We hope that rigorous assessment of migration metrics will aid understanding of both how and why animals move. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:11:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abe92e9399d44ad9b6e9662484080752 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2051-3933 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:11:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Movement Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-abe92e9399d44ad9b6e96624840807522024-01-14T12:42:35ZengBMCMovement Ecology2051-39332024-01-0112111810.1186/s40462-023-00444-8Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning anglesPeter R. Thompson0Peter D. Harrington1Conor D. Mallory2Subhash R. Lele3Erin M. Bayne4Andrew E. Derocher5Mark A. Edwards6Mitch Campbell7Mark A. Lewis8Department of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaDepartment of Mathematics, University of British ColumbiaInuit Tapiriit KanatamiDepartment of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of AlbertaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaOffice of the Chief Scientist, Environment and Protected Areas, Government of AlbertaGovernment of NunavutDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaAbstract Background Animals of many different species, trophic levels, and life history strategies migrate, and the improvement of animal tracking technology allows ecologists to collect increasing amounts of detailed data on these movements. Understanding when animals migrate is important for managing their populations, but is still difficult despite modelling advancements. Methods We designed a model that parametrically estimates the timing of migration from animal tracking data. Our model identifies the beginning and end of migratory movements as signaled by change-points in step length and turning angle distributions. To this end, we can also use the model to estimate how an animal’s movement changes when it begins migrating. In addition to a thorough simulation analysis, we tested our model on three datasets: migratory ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) in the Great Plains, barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) in northern Canada, and non-migratory brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the Canadian Arctic. Results Our simulation analysis suggests that our model is most useful for datasets where an increase in movement speed or directional autocorrelation is clearly detectable. We estimated the beginning and end of migration in caribou and hawks to the nearest day, while confirming a lack of migratory behaviour in the brown bears. In addition to estimating when caribou and ferruginous hawks migrated, our model also identified differences in how they migrated; ferruginous hawks achieved efficient migrations by drastically increasing their movement rates while caribou migration was achieved through significant increases in directional persistence. Conclusions Our approach is applicable to many animal movement studies and includes parameters that can facilitate comparison between different species or datasets. We hope that rigorous assessment of migration metrics will aid understanding of both how and why animals move.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00444-8 |
| spellingShingle | Peter R. Thompson Peter D. Harrington Conor D. Mallory Subhash R. Lele Erin M. Bayne Andrew E. Derocher Mark A. Edwards Mitch Campbell Mark A. Lewis Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles Movement Ecology |
| title | Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| title_full | Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| title_fullStr | Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| title_short | Simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| title_sort | simultaneous estimation of the temporal and spatial extent of animal migration using step lengths and turning angles |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00444-8 |
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