Clapp Justin G, Beck Jeffrey L
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management University of Wyoming Dept. 3354 1000 East University Avenue Laramie Wyoming 82071 ; Wyoming Game and Fish Department 260 Buena Vista Drive Lander Wyoming 82520.
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management University of Wyoming Dept. 3354 1000 East University Avenue Laramie Wyoming 82071.
Ecol Evol. 2015 Aug 24;5(18):3869-78. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1655. eCollection 2015 Sep.
A variety of methods are commonly used to quantify animal home ranges using location data acquired with telemetry. High-volume location data from global positioning system (GPS) technology provide researchers the opportunity to identify various intensities of use within home ranges, typically quantified through utilization distributions (UDs). However, the wide range of variability evident within UDs constructed with modern home range estimators is often overlooked or ignored during home range comparisons, and challenges may arise when summarizing distributional shifts among multiple UDs. We describe an approach to gain additional insight into home range changes by comparing UDs across isopleths and summarizing comparisons into meaningful results. To demonstrate the efficacy of this approach, we used GPS location data from 16 bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) to identify distributional changes before and after habitat alterations, and we discuss advantages in its application when comparing home range size, overlap, and joint-space use. We found a consistent increase in bighorn sheep home range size when measured across home range levels, but that home range overlap and similarity values decreased when examined at increasing core levels. Our results highlight the benefit of conducting multiscale assessments when comparing distributions, and we encourage researchers to expand comparative home range analyses to gain a more comprehensive evaluation of distributional changes and to evaluate comparisons across home range levels.
利用遥测技术获取的位置数据，人们通常会采用多种方法来量化动物的活动范围。全球定位系统（GPS）技术产生的大量位置数据，为研究人员提供了机会，以识别活动范围内不同强度的使用情况，通常通过利用分布（UDs）进行量化。然而，在用现代活动范围估计器构建的UDs中明显存在的广泛变异性，在活动范围比较过程中常常被忽视或忽略，并且在总结多个UDs之间的分布变化时可能会出现挑战。我们描述了一种方法，通过比较等值线间的UDs并将比较结果总结为有意义的结果，来更深入地了解活动范围的变化。为了证明这种方法的有效性，我们使用了16只大角羊（加拿大盘羊）的GPS位置数据，来识别栖息地改变前后的分布变化，并讨论在比较活动范围大小、重叠情况和联合空间使用时该方法的应用优势。我们发现，在不同活动范围水平上测量时，大角羊的活动范围大小持续增加，但在核心水平不断提高时，活动范围的重叠和相似性值会降低。我们的结果强调了在比较分布时进行多尺度评估的好处，并且我们鼓励研究人员扩展比较活动范围分析，以更全面地评估分布变化，并评估不同活动范围水平之间的比较。
