Home range analysis using a mechanistic home range model
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The traditional models used to characterize animal home ranges have no mechanistic basis underlying their descriptions of space use, and as a result, the analysis of animal home ranges has primarily been a descriptive endeavor. In this paper, the authors characterize coyote (Canis latrans) home range patterns using partial differential equations for expected space use that are formally derived from underlying descriptions of individual movement behavior. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that mechanistic models have been used to characterize animal home ranges. The results provide empirical support for a model formulation of movement response to scent marks, and suggest that having relocation data for individuals in adjacent groups is necessary to capture the spatial arrangement of home range boundaries. The authors then show how the model fits can be used to obtain predictions for individual movement and scent marking behavior and to predict changes in home range patterns. More generally, the findings illustrate how mechanistic models permit the development of a predictive theory for the relationship between movement behavior and animal spatial distribution.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6299575
- Journal Information:
- Ecology, Vol. 80:5; ISSN 0012-9658
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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