Quantitative Analysis of Movement

Book excerpt: In the last two decades it has become increasingly clear that the spatial dimension is a critically important aspect of ecological dynamics. Ecologists are currently investing an enormous amount of effort in quantifying movement patterns of organisms. Connecting these data to general issues in metapopulation biology and landscape ecology, as well as to applied questions in conservation and natural resource management, however, has proved to be a non-trivial task. This book presents a systematic exposition of quantitative methods for analyzing and modeling movements of organisms in the field. Quantitative Analysis of Movement is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in spatial ecology, including applications to conservation, pest control, and fisheries. Models are a key ingredient in the analytical approaches developed in the book; however, the primary focus is not on mathematical methods, but on connections between models and data. The methodological approaches discussed in the book will be useful to ecologists working with all taxonomic groups. Case studies have been selected from a wide variety of organisms, including plants (seed dispersal, spatial spread of clonal plants), insects, and vertebrates (primarily, fish, birds, and mammals).