High resolution data reveal fundamental steps and turning points in animal movements

Abstract Animal movement paths display substantial complexity and variability, leading researchers to seek underlying rules that govern these patterns and mathematical models that best describe them. Using high-resolution (≥ 10 Hz) movement from 43 vertebrate species across diverse taxa, mass, and lifestyles, we show that movement paths are universally composed of straight-line steps interspersed with sharp turns, echoing a pattern documented for lower taxa such as bacteria. We report how these vertebrate ‘fundamental step lengths’ and ‘fundamental turn angles’, which are intrinsically different from the straight-line paths detailed in studies using low resolution position data, vary with species’ mass, lifestyle, behaviour, and environmental context. To explain these, we posit that animals inherently move in a straight line until sensory information signals a perceived better heading, which instigates a turn. The constellation of fundamental step lengths and turn angles over varying time intervals affects how well different models of animal movement (such as random walk or Lévy flight) fit lower resolution data. By examining turns as decision points, we can seek drivers of animal movement patterns and thereby work to predict future paths under varying conditions.

How to cite this publication

Richard Gunner, Rory P. Wilson, Miguel Lurgi, Luca Börger, James Redcliffe, Emily L. C. Shepard, Mark D. Holton, Margaret C. Crofoot, Abdulaziz N. Alagaili, Samantha Andrzejaczek, Daniel Ariano‐Sánchez, Thomas Barbedette-Gerard, Nigel C. Bennett, Alice Bernard, M. Rowan Brown, Nik C. Cole, Scott Creel, Ariovaldo P. Cruz‐Neto, Agustina di Virgilio, Carlos M. Duarte, Christophe Eizaguirre, Kyle H. Elliott, Monika Faltusová, Mathieu Garel, Natasha Gillies, Adrian C. Gleiss, Aoife Göppert, David Grémillet, Sophie de Grissac, Tim Guilford, Maxime Hoareau, Mark Jessopp, Agustina Gómez‐Laich, Miloš Ježek, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Pascal Marchand, Nikki J. Marks, Andréia Martins, Mark G. Meekan, Yuichi Mizutani, Rasmus Mohr Mortensen, Bradley M. Norman, Josué Ortega, Oliver Padget, Michael S. Painter, Aurore Ponchon, Pascal Provost, Aurore Ponchon, Flavio Quintana, Stefanie Reinhardt, Samantha Reynolds, Frank Rosell, Carlos R. Ruiz‐Miranda, Peter G. Ryan, Michael Scantlebury, Stefan Schoombie, Rebecca Scott, Václav Silovský, Rabindra Vikash Tatayah, Carole Toïgo, Lucía Tórrez, Fred Tremblay, Joshua P. Twining, Ken Yoda, Henri Weimerskirch, Shannon Whelan, Juan Morales, Jonathan R. Potts (2024). High resolution data reveal fundamental steps and turning points in animal movements. , DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5559169/v1.

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Publication Details

Type

Preprint

Year

2024

Authors

68

Datasets

0

Total Files

0

Language

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5559169/v1

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