Mechanistic Home Range Analysis

by Moorcroft, Paul R.

• ISBN13: 9780691009278
• ISBN10: 0691009279
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-24
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Spatial patterns of movement are fundamental to the ecology of animal populations, influencing their social organization, mating systems, demography, and the spatial distribution of prey and competitors. However, our ability to understand the causes and consequences of animal home range patterns has been limited by the descriptive nature of the statistical models used to analyze them. InMechanistic Home Range Analysis, Paul Moorcroft and Mark Lewis develop a radically new framework for studying animal home range patterns based on the analysis of correlated random work models for individual movement behavior. They use this framework to develop a series of mechanistic home range models for carnivore populations. The authors' analysis illustrates how, in contrast to traditional statistical home range models that merely describe pattern, mechanistic home range models can be used to discover the underlying ecological determinants of home range patterns observed in populations, make accurate predictions about how spatial distributions of home ranges will change following environmental or demographic disturbance, and analyze the functional significance of the movement strategies of individuals that give rise to observed patterns of space use. By providing researchers and graduate students of ecology and wildlife biology with a more illuminating way to analyze animal movement,Mechanistic Home Range Analysiswill be an indispensable reference for years to come.

Author Biography

Paul R. Moorcroft is Associate Professor of Biology at Harvard University. Mark A. Lewis is Professor of Mathematics and Biology at the University of Alberta, where he holds a Senior Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Biology.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1. Introduction	1	(6)
1.1. Statistical Home Range Analysis	2	(2)
1.2. Mechanistic Home Range Analysis	4	(3)
2. From Individual Behavior to Patterns of Space Use	7	(16)
2.1. Movement in One Dimension	8	(4)
2.2. Movement in Two Dimensions	12	(1)
2.3. Directed and Random Motion	13	(8)
2.4. Predicting Home Range Patterns	21	(1)
2.5. Summary	22	(1)
3. A Simple Mechanistic Home Range Model	23	(15)
3.1. Model of Individual Movement Behavior	24	(3)
3.2. Characterizing the Movement Behavior of a Red Fox	27	(3)
3.3. Equations for Patterns of Space Use	30	(1)
3.4. Solving for Patterns of Space Use	31	(2)
3.5. Predicted Red Fox Home Range	33	(2)
3.6. Coyote Home Range Patterns	35	(2)
3.7. Summary	37	(1)
4. A Model Based on Conspecific Avoidance	38	(17)
4.1. Model Formulation	39	(3)
4.2. Equations for Space Use	42	(1)
4.3. Empirical Evaluation of the Model	43	(10)
4.4. Summary	53	(2)
5. Comparative Analysis of Home Range Patterns Predicted by the Conspecific Avoidance Model	55	(12)
5.1. Predicted Patterns of Space Use	55	(5)
5.2. Border versus Hinterland Scent Marking	60	(4)
5.3. The Distribution of Scent Marks along Boundaries	64	(2)
5.4. Summary	66	(1)
6. Mathematical Analysis of the Conspecific Avoidance Model	67	(12)
6.1. Model Equations	67	(1)
6.2. Impact of the Scent-Marking Response	68	(4)
6.3. Existence of a Buffer Zone	72	(2)
6.4. Generalized Response Functions	74	(3)
6.5. Summary	77	(2)
7. The Influence of Landscape and Resource Heterogeneity on Patterns of Space Use	79	(13)
7.1. Landscape Heterogeneity	79	(3)
7.2. Resource Heterogeneity and Foraging Behavior	82	(7)
7.3. Model Predictions	89	(2)
7.4. Summary	91	(1)
8. Home Range Formation in the Absence of a Den Site	92	(5)
8.1. Model Formulation	92	(2)
8.2. Analysis	94	(2)
8.3. Summary	96	(1)
9. Secondary Ecological Interactions	97	(7)
9.1. Wolf–Deer Interactions	97	(3)
9.2. Wolf–Coyote Interactions	100	(3)
9.3. Summary	103	(1)
10. Displacement Distances: Theory and Applications	104	(11)
10.1. The Minimum Convex Polygon Method	104	(6)
10.2. Mean-Absolute and Mean-Squared Displacement	110	(4)
10.3. Summary	114	(1)
11. ESS Analysis of Movement Strategies: Analyzing the Functional Significance of Home Range Patterns	115	(15)
11.1. Evolutionarily Stable Movement Strategy for Interacting Wolf Packs	116	(3)
11.2. Analysis	119	(7)
11.3. Roles of Aggression and Signaling	126	(2)
11.4. Summary	128	(2)
12. Future Directions and Synthesis	130	(7)
Appendixes
A Derivation of the Fokker-Planck Equation for Space Use	137	(2)
B Alternative Derivation of the Space Use Equation	139	(1)
C Autocorrelation in Movement Direction	140	(2)
D Estimating the Parameters of the Localizing Tendency Model	142	(2)
E Movement with Attraction toward a Den	144	(5)
F Model Fitting	149	(2)
G Numerical Methods for Solving Space Use Equations	151	(1)
H Displacement Distances	152	(5)
I ESS Analysis Model Parameters	157	(1)
References	158	(11)
Index	169