Differences In Spatial Behaviour Research Articles

Did Liberal Lockdown Policies Change Spatial Behaviour in Sweden? Mapping Daily Mobilities in Stockholm Using Mobile Phone Data During COVID-19

Sweden had the most liberal lockdown policies in Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Relying on individual responsibility and behavioural nudges, their effectiveness was questioned from the perspective of others who responded with legal restrictions on behaviour. In this study, using mobile phone data, we therefore examine daily spatial mobilities in Stockholm to understand how they changed during the pandemic from their pre-pandemic baseline given this background. The analysis demonstrates: that mobilities did indeed change but with some variations according to (a) the residential social composition of places and (b) their locations within the city; that the changes were long lasting; and that the average fall in spatial mobility across the whole was not caused by everybody moving less but instead by more people joining the group of those who stayed close to home. It showed, furthermore, that there were seasonal differences in spatial behaviour as well as those associated with major religious or national festivals. The analysis indicates the value of mobile phone data for spatially fine-grained mobility research but also shows its weaknesses, namely the lack of personal information on important covariates such as age, gender, and education.

Spatial personalities: a meta-analysis of consistent individual differences in spatial behavior

AbstractIndividual variation in behavior, particularly consistent among-individual differences (i.e., personality), has important ecological and evolutionary implications for population and community dynamics, trait divergence, and patterns of speciation. Nevertheless, individual variation in spatial behaviors, such as home range behavior, movement characteristics, or habitat use has yet to be incorporated into the concepts or methodologies of ecology and evolutionary biology. To evaluate evidence for the existence of consistent among-individual differences in spatial behavior – which we refer to as “spatial personality” – we performed a meta-analysis of 200 repeatability estimates of home range size, movement metrics, and habitat use. We found that the existence of spatial personality is a general phenomenon, with consistently high repeatability (r) across classes of spatial behavior (r = 0.67–0.82), taxa (r = 0.31–0.79), and time between repeated measurements (r = 0.54–0.74). These results suggest: 1) repeatable spatial behavior may either be a cause or consequence of the environment experienced and lead to spatial personalities that may limit the ability of individuals to behaviorally adapt to changing landscapes; 2) interactions between spatial phenotypes and environmental conditions could result in differential reproduction, survival, and dispersal, suggesting that among-individual variation may facilitate population-level adaptation; 3) spatial patterns of species' distributions and spatial population dynamics may be better understood by shifting from a mean field analytical approach towards methods that account for spatial personalities and their associated fitness and ecological dynamics.

Gendered movement ecology and landscape use in Hadza hunter-gatherers

Understanding how gendered economic roles structure space use is critical to evolutionary models of foraging behaviour, social organization and cognition. Here, we examine hunter-gatherer spatial behaviour on a very large scale, using GPS devices worn by Hadza foragers to record 2,078 person-days of movement. Theory in movement ecology suggests that the density and mobility of targeted foods should predict spatial behaviour and that strong gender differences should arise in a hunter-gatherer context. As predicted, we find that men walked further per day, explored more land, followed more sinuous paths and were more likely to be alone. These data are consistent with the ecology of male- and female-targeted foods and suggest that male landscape use is more navigationally challenging in this hunter-gatherer context. Comparisons of Hadza space use with space use data available for non-human primates suggest that the sexual division of labour likely co-evolved with increased sex differences in spatial behaviour and landscape use.

Space use of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) from two haulout locations along the Oregon coast.

BackgroundThere are approximately 10,000–12,000 Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) inhabiting the Oregon coast, and unlike other species of pinnipeds in this region, are reliably present year-round. Despite this, and drastic rebounds in population since the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, limited data is available for the present period regarding their space use at sea, and within estuarine, riverine, or bay areas within the state.ObjectiveTo examine site-based differences in space use for 24 adult Pacific harbor seals captured and outfitted with satellite transmitters at two predominant haulout sites on the Oregon Coast, USA.DesignWe captured 24 adult harbor seals from two haulout sites on the Central Oregon coast between September 2014–16 and fitted them with external Wildlife Computers SPOT5 satellite transmitters to track movement. Using state-space modeled locations derived from satellite telemetry data, we evaluated spatial behavior of these animals using a correlated random walk model via R package crawl. Kernel density estimation was subsequently used to calculate home range and core area for each animal. Percent use of open ocean habitat versus use of estuaries, rivers and bays was quantified, as was an initial examination of presence within five newly-established marine reserves in Oregon. Examination of haulout site-related differences in spatial behavior were examined for seals captured in Netarts and Alsea Bays, Oregon and haul out behavior related to time of day, season, and tidal level was also investigated.ResultsThe average individual home range for seals was 364.47 ± 382.87 km2 with seals captured in Alsea bay demonstrating a significantly higher home range area than those captured in Netarts Bay. Alsea bay seals also tended to range farther from shore than Netarts Bay animals. The average calculated core area for seals encompassed on average 29.41 ± 29.23 km2 per animal, however the home range of one animal was so small, core area could not be calculated. Use of marine reserves was limited for animals in this study, representing less than 2% of locations with a majority occurring in Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve and North Marine Protected Area. Seals were more likely to haul out during low tides and periods of low light (dusk, night and dawn), and hauling out behavior increased in winter months.SignificanceThese findings demonstrate the first major documentation of space use of harbor seals in the state for nearly three decades, and lends itself to future comparison and formation of mechanistically-based hypotheses for behavior of a common marine mammal in the highly productive northern California Current System.

Sex differences in exploratory behaviour of the common toad, Bufo bufo

The origin of sex differences in spatial behaviour is widely discussed in the laboratory studies in higher vertebrates, but almost nobody has investigated the problem in the first tetrapods, in amphibians. We tested exploratory behaviour, the crucial element of spatial behaviour, in 12 males and 7 females of the common toad, Bufo bufo, in a rectangular maze with four rooms and visual objects inside. One of the four rooms contained the useful resources (water, food, shelter). In the first 4 hr-trial toads explored the maze with the resources. In the second 4 hr-trial, 15 min later, the same environment contained no resources, and we evaluated the changes in the extent of movements and spatial preferences as the result of exploratory learning. In the first trial females moved widely among the rooms, while males more often visited the room with the resources. However, both sexes spent most of the time in the room with the resources. When the resources disappeared, males increased locomotory activity and the frequency of visits to the rooms. The activity of females remained almost unchanged. Toads were not motivated to search resources directly, as the latency to enter the resource room remained the same in both trials. Instead of this, toads monitored the potential location of the useful resources during the test, but the exploratory strategies of sexes were different. Males travelled mainly in the resource room. Females spent more time and more often visited two rooms: the resource and the opposite one. Thus, males demonstrated more intensive and more goal-oriented exploratory behaviour than females. It is the first evidence of sex differences in exploratory behaviour of amphibians obtained under controlled laboratory conditions.

Sex- and size-selective harvesting of corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops)—a cleaner fish used in salmonid aquaculture

Fishery-induced changes in sex ratios can have negative effects on reproductive rates and affect sexual selection and evolutionary trajectories. Here, we investigate sex- and size-selectivity of the fishery for corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops) in Western Norway. The males that build and guard nests (nesting males) grow faster than females and sneaker males. Corkwing wrasse were tagged (n = 1057) during (May–June) and after (July) the spawning period in 2014 within a no-take site and in a nearby site open for fishing. We monitored the fishery within and nearby the tagging sites from June to October and sampled recaptures on all commercial fishing trips. Fishing mortality was higher for nesting males than for females (open site; tagged during spawning: 36% vs. 29%; after spawning: 49% vs. 36%) and was found to be caused by nesting males having higher capture probabilities than females, independently of body size. The fishing mortality of sneaker males did not differ from nesting males, but the sample of sneaker males in the study was small. The probability of being retained by fishers once captured depended on size, but not on sex. The small no-take site reduced fishing mortality, and the sex- and size-selectivity was similar to the open site. By demonstrating the capture process to be male-selective in a commercial fishery, our study highlights the importance of assessing sex-selectivity in similar fisheries. If detected, management measures protecting the sexes more equally should be implemented, such as slot-size limits and marine-protected areas large enough to account for sexual differences in spatial behaviour.

Drawing lines: Spatial behaviours reveal two ecotypes of woodland caribou

Ecotypes offer an essential framework for conservation and ecological understanding, but their identification can be problematic. These challenges are exemplified by the sedentary and migratory ecotypes of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). In Ontario, Canada, reliable discrimination based on morphology, pelage, or genetics has been unsuccessful. We tested the discriminatory power of locational and movement metrics as candidate indicators of discrete behaviours for 132 GPS-tracked female caribou. We assigned each animal to an ecotype each year using two variables which demonstrated the strongest bi-modality and the best discriminatory power: percent of calving season locations within the Hudson Bay Lowland and mean distance to treeline during calving season. The analysis revealed two distinct modes. None of 101 caribou tracked for more than 1year switched behaviours, implying the distinction may be permanent. Although there was no significant difference in morphology between ecotypes, mean aggregation metrics and calving dates were significantly different. Geographic distribution of these ecotypes showed substantial range overlap, particularly during winter, which presents challenges for conservation of the sedentary ecotype, a threatened designatable unit under federal and provincial legislation. Woodland caribou − with its cryptic ecotypes, discernible from differences in spatial behaviour − illustrate the importance of this type of analysis for identifying significant units for protection, understanding habitat relationships, and delineating ranges for habitat protection.

Residential Distribution of the Emergent Class of Skilled Migrants in Nanjing

Migration in China is traditionally dominated by unskilled rural-urban migrants that find their way into the city through urban villages, dormitories or informal housing. However, a remarkable increase in the number of skilled migrants has been witnessed with the economic restructuring. Reforms in the labour and housing market have shifted the spatial arrangement of opportunities, consequently changing migrants' access to the cities. Using 2000 Population Census and employing spatial regression models, this study shows skilled migrants to have better access to the city in the sense that their residences locate in the areas with more professional jobs and better houses. It is their advantages in the labour market that determines their favoured access to the public sector housing, resulting in better residential locations. Female skilled migrants are less likely than males to settle in areas with a large proportion of urban village housing or shared accommodation. These findings reveal the heterogeneity among migrants and the concomitant differences in spatial behaviour.

Shifter and resident red deer: intrapopulation and intersexual behavioural diversities in a predator-free area

Context Population management of meso-large game species; knowledge of seasonal movements and sexual segregation. Aims We predicted (1) a similar mixed spatial tactic in the two sexes (shifters and residents); (2) that reproductive success could be a key factor eliciting a mixed spatial tactic in hinds; and (3) that hunting activities may affect the rutting season, influencing rutting site location. Methods We studied the spatial behaviour of 41 red deer on the Italian north-eastern Alps, from December 2003 to October 2007, by VHF radio-tracking. Key results For both sexes, two main spatial tactics were described, including residents, remaining in the same area all year long, and shifters, using non-overlapping seasonal home ranges. Most deer showed consistent spatial behaviour. In all, 87% of stags and 49% of hinds were shifters. Sexual segregation was greater in winter than in summer. All hinds wintered in the same valley, with residents in the qualitatively poorer, but protected, area. Resident hinds showed a variable yearly reproductive success, whereas usually all shifters had a calf at heel. Rutting areas of hinds overlapped with their winter or summer ranges, whereas stags occupied up to three different areas yearly. Deer distribution determined a different harvesting pressure on the two sexes. Conclusions Although shifters and residents were found in both sexes, differences in spatial behaviour of stags and hinds were consistent for seasonal occupancy, habitat selection and number of seasonal home ranges. For hinds, a mixed spatial tactic, seasonality and hunting activities could be key factors of reproductive success. Implications Hunting could affect the proportions of shifter and resident hinds at different levels, with the latter benefiting from the protection accorded. This unequally distributed selective harvesting may alter the local social structure and population dynamics in the long term. Shifter behaviour, seasonal movements and sexual segregation may bias population estimates, if counts are conducted when individuals make seasonal movements. Furthermore, the size of a hunting unit should be function of the extent of local movements of deer.

Evidence of density-dependent cohort splitting in age-0 yellow perch, (Perca flavescens): potential behavioural mechanisms and population-level consequences

Two sequential cohorts of age-0 yellow perch (Perca flavescens), differing approximately threefold in density, were observed for their ontogeny of spatial distribution, growth, and diet in Lake St. George, Ontario. The lower density cohort exhibited typical ontogenetic spatial behaviour patterns consisting of an early pelagic phase followed by a complete migration to the littoral zone by midsummer. The high-density cohort appeared to split into a faster growing littoral component and a slower growing pelagic component which persisted throughout the growing season and into the next spring. The differences in spatial behaviour between these two cohorts could not be explained by spatial patterns in prey availability. The overwinter mortality rate for the high-density cohort was approximately double that observed for the low-density cohort. No direct observations of behaviour were made of the two cohorts, but distribution and growth data, along with arguments from competition theory, support the hypothesis that interference competition is the density-dependent mechanism responsible for the aberrant ontogeny of spatial distribution of the high-density cohort. The occurrence of interference competition in which competitively superior individuals can monopolize optimal habitats, relegating other individuals to suboptimal habitats, infers an asymptotic stock and recruitment relationship.

No sex difference occurs in hippocampus, food-storing, or memory for food caches in black-capped chickadees

A number of recent studies have described sex differences in the relative size of the hippocampus that are associated with sex differences in the use of space. Voles, kangaroo rats, and cowbirds all exhibit a sex difference in relative size of the hippocampal formation that is correlated with a sex difference in spatial behaviour. We wished to determine whether sex differences in the size of the hippocampus occur in the absence of a difference in the use of space, and whether the previously described correlations could be adventitious. Relative hippocampal size was determined in wild-caught black-capped chickadees ( Parus atricapillus) following behavioural observations of food caching and spatial memory for cache sites. There was no indication of a sex difference in either relative size of the hippocampus or in food-caching behaviour and memory for cache sites. These results show that sex differences in relative size of the hippocampus do not occur as a matter of course, and are consistent with the hypothesis that sex differences in spatial behaviour and spatial ability are predictive of sex differences in the relative size of the hippocampus.

EVALUATING TOURIST FLOWS IN HISTORIC CITIES: THE CASE OF VENICE

ABSTRACTVenice is one of the world's great tourist‐historic urban attractions, but this has produced a number of well‐documented threats to both its physical and cultural environments, as well as conflicts with the needs of its residents and commuters. This has led to demands that tourist inflows should be limited. Against this background, the authors argue that, in practice, Venice's tourist demand is both varied and complex. This is illustrated by their analysis of a ninefold classification of tourists, which highlights important differences in spatial behaviour, perceptiveness, receptiveness and spending power. On this basis, they propose that some categories of tourists should be actively encouraged. Finally, they conclude by emphasizing the key role of the water transport system, and the need to plan for effective separation of the access, circulation and exit of the tourist and the resident/commuting populations.

Adult movements between populations in the specialist butterflyProclossiana eunomia(Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

Abstract.The structure of local populations of a monophagous butterfly, the bog fritillaryProclossiana eunomia, was studied in a complex of suitable habitat patches separated by spruce plantations or fertilized pasture.An unexpected high level of adult movements between habitat patches was detected by a mark—release—recapture technique. Local populations were connected by adult movements across unsuitable habitats, leading to a meta‐population structure.This evidence of the metapopulation structure of a specialist butterfly challenges the supposed relationship between habitat specialization and closed, isolated populations.Males and females ofP.eunomiaexhibited different spatial behaviours; females were more likely to emigrate and dispersed further than males. These differences in spatial behaviour are related to the mating system.

Gender and race differentials in elderly migration.

A number of studies have provided evidence that elderly migration in the United States is strongly selective in terms of the characteristics of the migrants. Such characteristics as age, gender, and race are commonly used in examinations of migrant selectivity, but the differences in spatial behavior of these subpopulations are still poorly understood. This article uses state-to-state migration data, categorized by age, gender, and race, to explore the comparative patterns of origins, destinations, and migration propensities, with a focus on the southeastern states of the country.

Gender, Graphicacy and Geography

The paper attempts to explain why geography seems to attract more boys than girls. Attention is given to how gender‐related differences in spatial behaviour around the home influences the development of mapping abilities. From the age of eight onwards boys enjoy a freer home range. In consequence, their recall maps are richer in detail, more integrated in form and more accurate than those of girls of a similar age. Boys carry through these advantages in graphicacy into secondary education. Recommendations are suggested in terms of how teachers need to be more aware of the influence of gender upon performance levels in geography.

A photogrammetric technique for measuring human interaction distances

In recent years, field studies in the area of human ecology have been concerned with investigations of interpersonal distance patterns. Some researchers, for example, find wide differences in spatial behavior among culture groups (e.g., Aiello & Jones, 1971; Watson & Graves, 1966), others find only slight variations (Willis, 1966) or none at all (Forston & Larson, 1968). Many of the past studies have relied on eyeball techniques, often obtrusive and imprecise (Aiello & Jones, 1971; Hall, 1955); very little attention has been paid to the use of photographic recordings. One of the reasons for the present paucity of photographic studies is that it is difficult to obtain good photographs of dyadic groupings in the horizontal plane which are free from obstructions by other persons in the immediate vicinity; it is also difficult to remain unobtrusive. Another problem seems to be the inadequacy of present photogrammetric methods to take into account the S's angle of orientation in determining the physical distance between interacting members. Because of existing inadequacies in interpersonal distance measurement techniques, a photogrammetric method was developed to help overcome some of the problems involved. The method has been recently utilized, with considerable success, in two independent cross-subcultural studies of proxemic behavior of black and white primary school children, observed in school playground settings (Scherer, 1972).