A ‘How to’ guide for interpreting parameters in habitat‐selection analyses

Fieberg, John; Signer, Johannes; Smith, Brian J.; Avgar, Tal

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13441

Cited by 170 publications

(232 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(144 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

187

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These approaches worked well for simpler formulations of our model, providing very similar outputs as obtained without random slopes, however they failed to provide outputs as soon as the model became more complex (e.g., inclusion of interactions and nested random slopes) due to convergence issues. Indeed, these models can be challenging to fit [ 28 , 45 ]. We also tried to use the two-step approach described in Craiu et al [ 20 ], but this was not applicable as the values of several variables in our model remained constant within all strata of at least one cluster.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also tried to use the two-step approach described in Craiu et al [ 20 ], but this was not applicable as the values of several variables in our model remained constant within all strata of at least one cluster. This is the main limitation of the two-step approach [ 20 , 28 , 45 ]. The R code used to run all the above-mentioned models is provided in Additional file 1 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Including mixed effects in conditional logistic regressions remains challenging and is a developing topic in iSSA [ 28 ]. The use of random slopes has been recommended to fully account for inter-individual heterogeneity [ 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, iSSAs including random slopes have also been shown to produce biased parameters when movement characteristics were included in the model (e.g. step length) [ 28 , 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Roads constrain movement across behavioural processes in a partially migratory ungulate

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Human disturbance alters animal movement globally and infrastructure, such as roads, can act as physical barriers that impact behaviour across multiple spatial scales. In ungulates, roads can particularly hamper key ecological processes such as dispersal and migration, which ensure functional connectivity among populations, and may be particularly important for population performance in highly human-dominated landscapes. The impact of roads on some aspects of ungulate behaviour has already been studied. However, potential differences in response to roads during migration, dispersal and home range movements have never been evaluated. Addressing these issues is particularly important to assess the resistance of European landscapes to the range of wildlife movement processes, and to evaluate how animals adjust to anthropogenic constraints. Methods We analysed 95 GPS trajectories from 6 populations of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) across the Alps and central Europe. We investigated how roe deer movements were affected by landscape characteristics, including roads, and we evaluated potential differences in road avoidance among resident, migratory and dispersing animals (hereafter, movement modes). First, using Net Squared Displacement and a spatio-temporal clustering algorithm, we classified individuals as residents, migrants or dispersers. We then identified the start and end dates of the migration and dispersal trajectories, and retained only the GPS locations that fell between those dates (i.e., during transience). Finally, we used the resulting trajectories to perform an integrated step selection analysis. Results We found that roe deer moved through more forested areas during the day and visited less forested areas at night. They also minimised elevation gains and losses along their movement trajectories. Road crossings were strongly avoided at all times of day, but when they occurred, they were more likely to occur during longer steps and in more forested areas. Road avoidance did not vary among movement modes and, during dispersal and migration, it remained high and consistent with that expressed during home range movements. Conclusions Roads can represent a major constraint to movement across modes and populations, potentially limiting functional connectivity at multiple ecological scales. In particular, they can affect migrating individuals that track seasonal resources, and dispersing animals searching for novel ranges.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, iSSAs including random slopes have also been shown to produce biased parameters when movement characteristics were included in the model (e.g. step length) [ 28 , 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Roads constrain movement across behavioural processes in a partially migratory ungulate

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We used integrated step‐selection functions (iSSA; Avgar et al., 2016; Fieberg et al., 2021) to model habitat selection and movement of foxes. The iSSA method compares covariates at the end point of each realized step (a straight line connecting consecutive relocations of individual foxes) with a set of control steps.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visitation of artificial watering points by the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in semiarid Australia

Roshier

Signer

Carter

2021

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The presence of artificial water sources can also have secondary impacts on prey species through the presence of predators (e.g., Harrington et al., 1999). European settlement of Australia's arid and semiarid zone in the late 1800s brought with it widespread establishment of artificial watering points for livestock (James et al., 1999). This development has wrought profound changes to the region's flora and fauna (reviewed by James et al., 1999) and may facilitate the presence of introduced predators such as the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

show abstract

Moisture abundance and proximity mediate seasonal use of mesic areas and survival of greater sage‐grouse broods

Severson

Coates

Milligan

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water is a critical and limited resource, particularly in the arid West, but water availability is projected to decline even while demand increases due to growing human populations and increases in duration and severity of drought. Mesic areas provide important water resources for numerous wildlife species, including the greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage‐grouse), an indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. Understanding how wildlife use these crucial areas is necessary to inform management and conservation of sensitive species. Specifically, the influence of anthropogenic water subsidies such as irrigated pastures is not well‐studied. We evaluated brood‐rearing habitat selection and brood survival of sage‐grouse in Long Valley, California, an area where the water rights are primarily owned by the city of Los Angeles and water is used locally to irrigate for livestock. This area thus represents a unique balance between the needs of wildlife and people that could increasingly define future water management. In this study, sage‐grouse broods moved closer to the edge of mesic areas and used more interior areas during the late brood‐rearing period, selecting for greener areas after 1 July. Mesic areas were particularly important during dry years, with broods using areas farther interior than in wet years. Brood survival was also positively influenced by the availability and condition of mesic resources, as indicated by variation in values of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), with survival peaking at moderate values of NDVI and just outside the edge but decreasing inside the mesic areas. Our results highlight the importance of quality edge habitat of large mesic areas for sage‐grouse to balance habitat selection and survival, particularly during drier years and during the late brood‐rearing period, which is a critical period because chick survival has been shown to influence population growth. This study highlights the implications of large‐scale anthropogenic water manipulation, and the balance between local irrigation and water distribution to benefit other regions, from the context of a species of high conservation concern in North American sagebrush ecosystems.

show abstract

A ‘How to’ guide for interpreting parameters in habitat‐selection analyses

Cited by 170 publications

References 87 publications

Roads constrain movement across behavioural processes in a partially migratory ungulate

Roads constrain movement across behavioural processes in a partially migratory ungulate

Visitation of artificial watering points by the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in semiarid Australia

Moisture abundance and proximity mediate seasonal use of mesic areas and survival of greater sage‐grouse broods

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About