Abstract
Animal movement patterns in space and time are a central aspect of animal ecology. Remotely-sensed environmental indices can play a key role in understanding movement patterns by providing contiguous, relatively fine-scale data that link animal movements to their environment. Still, implementation of newly available remotely-sensed data is often delayed in studies of animal movement, calling for a better flow of information to researchers less familiar with remotely-sensed data applications. Here, we reviewed the application of remotely-sensed environmental indices to infer movement patterns of animals in terrestrial systems in studies published between 2002 and 2013. Next, we introduced newly available remotely-sensed products, and discussed their opportunities for animal movement studies. Studies of coarse-scale movement mostly relied on satellite data representing plant phenology or climate and weather. Studies of small-scale movement frequently used land cover data based on Landsat imagery or aerial photographs. Greater documentation of the type and resolution of remotely-sensed products in ecological movement studies would enhance their usefulness. Recent advancements in remote sensing technology improve assessments of temporal dynamics of landscapes and the three-dimensional structures of habitats, enabling near real-time environmental assessment. Online movement databases that now integrate remotely-sensed data facilitate access to remotely-sensed products for movement ecologists. We recommend that animal movement studies incorporate remotely-sensed products that provide time series of environmental response variables. This would facilitate wildlife management and conservation efforts, as well as the predictive ability of movement analyses. Closer collaboration between ecologists and remote sensing experts could considerably alleviate the implementation gap. Ecologists should not expect that indices derived from remotely-sensed data will be directly analogous to field-collected data and need to critically consider which remotely-sensed product is best suited for a given analysis.
Highlights
Both remote sensing and animal tracking technology have recently experienced major advances which has the potential to facilitate integrated analyses of environmental and animal movement data in unprecedented detail [1,2] Correspondingly, statistical analyses have advancedNeumann et al Movement Ecology (2015) 3:8 available since the 1970s at a wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions, providing a better match to various scales of animal movement
Remotely-sensed products commonly used in ecological animal movement studies The studies of small-scale movement that we reviewed included data about land cover, infrastructure, and TIME decades years weeks days hours
Digital elevation model (DEM) are sometimes combined with coarse-but-frequent remotely-sensed atmospheric variables such as wind speed, turbulent kinetic energy, temperature, and cloud height (e.g., 8-day moderateresolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products, monthly WorldClim data, or 10-day National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data (NOAA; i.e., the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR); Table 2)
Summary
Both remote sensing and animal tracking technology have recently experienced major advances which has the potential to facilitate integrated analyses of environmental and animal movement data in unprecedented detail [1,2] Correspondingly, statistical analyses have advancedNeumann et al Movement Ecology (2015) 3:8 available since the 1970s at a wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions, providing a better match to various scales of animal movement. We recommend that animal movement studies incorporate remotely-sensed products that provide time series of environmental response variables. Remotely-sensed products commonly used in ecological animal movement studies The studies of small-scale movement that we reviewed included data about land cover, infrastructure, and TIME decades years weeks days hours
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