Animal Movement Patterns Research Articles

Characterizing humpback whale behavior along the North-Norwegian coast

BackgroundStudying movement patterns of individual animals over time can give insight into how they interact with the environment and optimize foraging strategies. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) undertake long seasonal migrations between feeding areas in polar regions and breeding grounds in tropical areas. During the last decade, several individuals have had up to a 3-month stop-over period around specific fjord-areas in Northern Norway to feed on Norwegian spring-spawning (NSS-) herring (Culpea harengus L.). Their behavioral patterns during this period are not well understood, including why some whales seemingly leave the fjords and then later return within the same season.MethodsTo investigate whale behavior during this seasonal stopover, we classified humpback whale tracks into five distinct movement modes; ranging, encamped, nomadic, roundtrip and semi-roundtrip. A behavioral change point analysis (BCPA) was used to select homogeneous segments based on persistence velocity. Then, net squared displacement (NSD) over time was modeled to differentiate movement modes. This study also manually identified longer roundtrips away from the fjords that lasted several days and examined movement modes within these.ResultsInside the fjord systems, encamped mode was most prevalent in December–January, suggesting the whales were mainly foraging on overwintering NSS-herring in this area. During the same winter seasons, half of the whales left the fjords and then returned. We hypothesize that these trips serve as ‘searching trips’ during which the whales seek better feeding opportunities outside the fjords. If better foraging conditions are not found, they return to the fjords to continue their feeding. The overall most common mode was ranging (54%), particularly seen during the start of their southwards migration and in areas outside the fjord systems, indicating that the whales mainly moved over larger distances in the offshore habitat.ConclusionsThis study serves as a baseline for future studies investigating both the searching trip theory and humpback whale behavior in general, and confirms that this method could be useful to analyze local scale movement patterns of satellite tagged whales.

Tracking toads from dusk till dawn: linking inter- and intra-individual variation in movement behavior

Abstract Animals can differ in their individual movement behaviors during their daily displacements. Studies of animal movement patterns often disregard the need to understand individual variation in these patterns and the role of this variation in shaping population distributions of movements. To assess the link between individual movements and population distributions, we radio-tracked 13 Fowler’s Toads (Anaxyrus fowleri) in Long Point, Ontario, Canada, after their breeding season. We recorded individual coordinates every 30 min, from the moment they emerged from their burrows around dusk until they burrowed in the morning, and obtained a total of 157 movements. We used the resulting series of step lengths and turning angles in a Hidden Markov Model to estimate movement type as “directed” or “non-directed.” We also assigned to each encounter one of 3 space-dependent movement states: “foraging”, “in transit”, or “searching”, and found that movement type and state switched within individuals irrespective of time during a single night. We find that switching between movement types varied throughout the night, leading to stochastic within-individual variation in movements, and the distribution of movement distances differed significantly among individuals. Movement states, however, were time-dependent, suggesting displacement routines were similar across individuals. Variation in movement behavior within individuals scales up to result in variation among individuals which, in turn, was found to shape the distribution of the sampled population. Our findings therefore underline the importance of a multi-scale approach in the study of movement.

An active SLAM with multi-sensor fusion for snake robots based on deep reinforcement learning

Snake-like robots can imitate the movement patterns of animals in nature and enter the space that traditional robots cannot enter, which adapt to environments that humans cannot reach, and expand the field of human exploration. However, it is often challenging to realize autonomous navigation and simultaneously avoid obstacles under an unknown environment, that is, active SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). This paper proposes an autonomous obstacle avoidance method combined with SLAM based on deep reinforcement learning for a wheeled snake robot by using a multi-sensor. Firstly, we design a modular wheeled snake robot structure with lightweight materials based on orthogonal joints and build a three-dimensional model of a snake robot in Gazebo. Secondly, the SLAM based on two-dimensional LiDAR and IMU is used to realize autonomous navigation under an unknown environment and detect obstacles. At the same time, a Deep Q-Learning-based path planning method of the snake robot is proposed to realize obstacles avoidance during navigation. Finally, simulation studies and experiments show that the designed snake-like robot can realize effective path planning and environmental mapping in environments with obstacles. The proposed active SLAM algorithm improves the success rate of snake-like robot path planning, has better obstacle avoidance ability for obstacles, and reduces the number of collisions compared with the traditional A* and the sampling-based RRT* algorithms.

Habitat connectivity and plant characteristics affecting a fossorial skink, Typhlacontias brevipes

AbstractPlant traits and connectivity influence habitat usage, but fine‐scale ecological characteristics that determine fossorial animal movement patterns remain unclear. To understand the influence of landscape connectivity on movement behaviour, we examined vegetation characteristics relative to tracks between vegetation hummocks left by the short blind dart skink, Typhlacontias brevipes, a fossorial lizard inhabiting dunes of the Namib Desert. We measured characteristics of >700 plant hummocks and 293 T. brevipes tracks. Tracks were relatively direct from hummock to hummock (median straightness = 0.94). Vegetation hummocks with tracks were significantly larger than hummocks without tracks, indicating that vegetation size was the most important factor we measured in predicting track occurrence and was more important to skinks than the distances between hummocks, with only 24% of tracks occurring between nearest neighbouring vegetation hummocks. Network clusters consisting of as many as 15 vegetation hummocks were connected by tracks. Skink tracks had a median length of 815 cm and were oriented primarily from 0° to 30°. Our study highlights the importance of vegetation size to fossorial skinks and raises questions regarding other vegetation features that might influence the movement and ecology of fossorial lizards.

Step selection functions with non‐linear and random effects

Abstract Step selection functions (SSFs) are used to jointly describe animal movement patterns and habitat preferences. Recent work has extended this framework to model inter‐individual differences, account for unexplained structure in animals' space use and capture temporally varying patterns of movement and habitat selection. In this paper, we formulate SSFs with penalised smooths (similar to generalised additive models) to unify new and existing extensions, and conveniently implement the models in the popular, open‐source mgcv R package. We explore non‐linear patterns of movement and habitat selection, and use the equivalence between penalised smoothing splines and random effects to implement individual‐level and spatial random effects. This framework can also be used to fit varying‐coefficient models to account for temporally or spatially heterogeneous patterns of selection (e.g. resulting from behavioural variation), or any other non‐linear interactions between drivers of the animal's movement decisions. We provide the necessary technical details to understand several key special cases of smooths and their implementation in mgcv, showcase the ecological relevance using two illustrative examples and provide R code to facilitate the adoption of these methods. This paper offers a broad overview of how smooth effects can be applied to increase the flexibility and biological realism of SSFs.

Resource‐driven changes in wild boar movement and their consequences for the spread of African Swine Fever in the Russian Far East

Knowledge of animal movement patterns is invaluable to understanding the spread of diseases among wildlife populations. One example is the recent African swine fever (ASF) outbreak among wild boar Sus scrofa populations across East Asia, where there is a lack of information on movements of this species. During a wild boar tracking project to inform abundance estimation methods in the Russian Far East's Sikhote‐Alin Biosphere Zapovednik, the combination of high variability in pulsed resources of acorns and pine nuts between fall 2019 and fall 2020, and the outbreak of ASF during the latter year, offered the unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between wild boar movements to exploit pulsed resources and the potential for disease spread. We analyzed relocation data from GPS‐collared wild boar in fall 2019 and 2020 and compared them to reference data in Belgium, representative of western Europe. We found remarkable differences in movement patterns, with Far East wild boar travelling large distances in fall 2020 (maximum observed of 77 km in four days) when the availability of acorns was low. In our resource selection analysis, we found clear selection for mast‐producing forest types that corresponded with the species of greater mast production (oak or pine) for that year. Comparing the displacement of individual wild boar along a moving window of 1–7 days (time between infection and the onset ASF symptoms) highlighted the potential of rapid ASF spread over long distances when wild boar are in search of pulsed resources. This work demonstrates the capacity of wild boar to move long distances to exploit resources and emphasizes the need to consider resource availability when predicting the speed and extent to which diseases such as ASF can spread.

Development of a protocol for using geo-trackers to identify zoonotic enteric pathogen transmission pathways in a pilot study in Kenya

Abstract Humans and animals can be exposed to fecally-transmitted pathogens in both private and public domain environments. Animals may also acquire pathogen infections from these two environments and transmit them to humans through different pathways. Evidence on how often and where interactions occur between the two environments could improve the effectiveness of public health programs for preventing zoonotic disease transmission and response to disease outbreaks. This study aimed to develop a protocol for using geo-trackers to measure the spatial-temporal movement and interaction between animals and children in households and public areas in low- and middle-income categories of urban neighbourhoods in Kenya. It also aimed to identify opportunities and challenges for the scale-up of these methods’ for surveillance of other zoonotic diseases of public health significance. One commercial geo-tracker device with the best technological performance and usability that met pre-defined criteria for the study context was identified. Community engagement meetings were then conducted to gather input on a proposed study protocol. Afterwards, infants and animals were geo-tracked in 10 households in urban informal settlements of Kibera and Jericho, Nairobi over two consecutive weeks with iterative improvements to protocols. The effectiveness of the geo-tracking exercise was evaluated through in-depth interviews with Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and infant caregivers. Animal and infant behaviour and battery reliability of the geo-trackers were also monitored; and observed opportunities and challenges in implementing the protocol during the exercise were documented. Community members were receptive and accepted the use of geo-trackers on animals and children. In pilot testing, there was no change of behaviour from 10 infants tracked. Discomfort was observed for up to 30 min after the placement for some of the seven animals tracked, but the animals quickly adjusted. The battery for all geo-tracker devices lasted for the 24-h geo-tracking period. Some caregivers and CHVs were concerned whether the geo-trackers could record personal information. It was shown that geo-tracker devices can be successfully deployed to study animal-child interactions and movement in different categories of urban neighbourhoods. Recommendations have been made on the lessons learnt from the study to help scientists who would use geo-trackers for future community-based human and animal research. One Health impact statement Assessing human and animal risks of acquiring enteric infections from environmental contamination, or contributing to pathogen contamination of the environment requires understanding spatial-temporal patterns of human and animal movement between private households and the community. Movement of domestic animals is relevant for understanding household-community spatial patterns of pathogen transmission because animal ownership and contact with humans is common, and free-roaming animals carrying enteric pathogens can spread diverse faecal pathogens between environments. The community-based participatory research approach of this study evaluated implementation feasibility from the lens of technical usability and reliability of geo-tracking devices, as well as social acceptability and ethics related to using such devices for the community-based study of human and animal subjects in urban settings. Evidence and recommendations from this study will be useful to anyone interested in understanding human-animal-environment interactions and their contributions to infectious disease transmission.

Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in fish and crustaceans of a recreationally fished estuary, following targeted remediation

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) are a suite of harmful chemicals (hereafter collectively referred to as ‘dioxins’), and their emission into aquatic habitats leads to persistent contamination of sediments, aquatic food-webs, and seafoods. Quantifying contaminant levels in seafood species is important for the ongoing management of exposure risk by fishers, particularly after any remediation actions. We present dioxin concentrations in four seafood species (Yellowfin Bream Acanthopagrus australis, Sea Mullet Mugil cephalus, Eastern School Prawn Metapenaeus macleayi, and Eastern King Prawn Penaeus plebejus) in a recreationally fished estuary, in relation to a contaminated site that has undergone a remediation process, partially removing contaminated sediments (Homebush Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia). Dioxin concentrations in these species were measured before (2005/6) and after (2015/16) remediation at a range of locations in and around the remediated site. Dioxin concentrations and congener profiles differed substantially among taxa, and concentrations were frequently higher than Australian screening criteria. The two prawn species showed evidence of a decline in dioxin concentrations after remediation, but the fish species only showed a declining dioxin concentration with distance from the contaminated site (not between periods). There were some minor changes in the congener profile for some species following remediation. While there was evidence for greatly reduced dioxin concentrations in prawn species following remediation, the complex patterns for fish were likely affected by environmental changes, species-specific and temporal changes in lipid content, and animal movement patterns. Future monitoring may aid interpretation of the patterns and modelling of exposure risk associated with seafood consumption into the future.

Advances in biologging can identify nuanced energetic costs and gains in predators.

Foraging is a key driver of animal movement patterns, with specific challenges for predators which must search for mobile prey. These patterns are increasingly impacted by global changes, principally in land use and climate. Understanding the degree of flexibility in predator foraging and social strategies is pertinent to wildlife conservation under global change, including potential top-down effects on wider ecosystems. Here we propose key future research directions to better understand foraging strategies and social flexibility in predators. In particular, rapid continued advances in biologging technology are helping to record and understand dynamic behavioural and movement responses of animals to environmental changes, and their energetic consequences. Data collection can be optimised by calibrating behavioural interpretation methods in captive settings and strategic tagging decisions within and between social groups. Importantly, many species' social systems are increasingly being found to be more flexible than originally described in the literature, which may be more readily detectable through biologging approaches than behavioural observation. Integrating the effects of the physical landscape and biotic interactions will be key to explaining and predicting animal movements and energetic balance in a changing world.

Impact of topographic factors on animal field pathings: Analysis and prediction of deer movement patterns

Understanding and tracking the complexities of animal movement patterns is of paramount importance in wildlife management, conservation efforts, and the sustainable use of natural resources. An infinite number of factors influence the movement path of animals within their respective habitats, including: the structure of the habitat, the availability of resources, the presence of natural predators, social memory, the topographic attributes of the environment, etc.Numerous studies have attempted to delineate the spatial boundaries of animal habitats by elucidating the complexities of their movement dynamics. These investigations have highlighted the profound impact of factors such as environmental topography and the presence of natural impediments and other anthropogenic structures on animal mobility, but very few have analyzed topographic factors at a fine three-dimensional spatial scale.This research focuses on a novel methodology for identifying animal trajectories at a fine scale and evaluating the influence of topographic factors on these trajectories, specifically of deer herds in southern Spain. To understand movement patterns, transects recorded in the field due to continued use by deer are analyzed. Topographical information was obtained in two steps: first with a graphical analysis of orthophotos for the incorporation of the sufficient data set. Secondly, the veracity of this data was verified using Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking technology. The integration of data from multiple sources with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allowed the analysis to be automated. Next a statistical linear regression model, based on both the ascent and descent lengths and the total length of the path traveled, was designed to infer the trajectories between two designated points within the study area. Using topographical variables obtained in the study environment, such as the slope, the elevation difference (cumulative vertical distance), and the 3D length of the transect paths, the influence of these variables on the movement decisions of animals within their habitat is established in order to facilitate their subsequent prediction.Analytical tests of the trajectories have shown that the movement behavior of cervids is predictable. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the methodology presented which, by providing and collect valuable topographic information on movement and transit areas, can guide sustainable management practices for deer populations and their habitats.

Animal Wearables and the Transformation of Movement Ecology Through IoT

The transformative power of the Internet of Things (IoT) has reached the realms of movement ecology, revolutionizing the ways in which we monitor and understand animal movement patterns. This paper delves into the emergence and impact of animal wearables, devices equipped with advanced sensors that collect real-time data on an animal's location, physiological status, and surrounding environment. Historically, tracking animal movement relied heavily on manual methods, such as visual observations and rudimentary tagging. With the advent of IoT, these methods have evolved to incorporate real-time monitoring, improved accuracy, and the simultaneous tracking of multiple animals. Through a series of case studies, we highlight the novel insights into the behavior of migratory birds, marine life, and terrestrial mammals provided by IoT-enhanced wearables. Despite their evident advantages, these wearables also present challenges, from data management issues to concerns about animal welfare and data privacy. Looking forward, the potential for miniaturization, integration with AI, and enhanced connectivity promises even more refined tools for movement ecology research. This paper underscores the profound influence of IoT on movement ecology, heralding a new era of informed conservation and ecological understanding.

Multi-scale movement syndromes for comparative analyses of animal movement patterns

BackgroundAnimal movement is a behavioral trait shaped by the need to find food and suitable habitat, avoid predators, and reproduce. Using high-resolution tracking data, it is possible to describe movement in greater detail than ever before, which has led to many discoveries about the behavioral strategies of particular species. Recently, enough data been become available to enable a comparative approach, which has the potential to uncover general causes and consequences of variation in movement patterns, but which must be scale specific. MethodsHere we introduce a new multi-scale movement syndrome (MSMS) framework for describing and comparing animal movements and use it to explore the behavior of four sympatric mammals. MSMS incorporates four hierarchical scales of animal movement: (1) fine-scale movement steps which accumulate into (2) daily paths which then, over weeks or months, form a (3) life-history phase. Finally, (4) the lifetime track of an individual consists of multiple life-history phases connected by dispersal or migration events. We suggest a series of metrics to describe patterns of movement at each of these scales and use the first three scales of this framework to compare the movement of 46 animals from four frugivorous mammal species.ResultsWhile subtle differences exist between the four species in their step-level movements, they cluster into three distinct movement syndromes in both path- and life-history phase level analyses. Differences in feeding ecology were a better predictor of movement patterns than a species’ locomotory or sensory adaptations.ConclusionsGiven the role these species play as seed dispersers, these movement syndromes could have important ecosystem implications by affecting the pattern of seed deposition. This multiscale approach provides a hierarchical framework for comparing animal movement for addressing ecological and evolutionary questions. It parallels scales of analyses for resource selection functions, offering the potential to connect movement process with emergent patterns of space use.

Bird movement patterns in an agricultural landscape are mediated by both habitat conditions and traits

AbstractAlterations of the landscape following agricultural expansion and intensification affect animal movement patterns in the resulting mosaic of fragments and surrounding matrix. Here, we analyze the observed movement patterns of 34 individuals from nine tropical bird species from a rapidly changing agricultural landscape in Kenya. We deconstructed the movement patterns into their three components: step length, turn angles, and displacement and categorized them into two states: area restrictive and expansive movement. Using hidden Markov models, mixed models, and species traits, we showed that movement of birds in the fragments comprised of short step lengths and small displacements, characteristic of area restrictive movement to exploit high‐quality habitats. On the contrary, movement in the matrix comprised of long step lengths and large displacements, characteristic of area expansive movement to explore or pass‐through poorer habitats. The responses of movement components to fragments and the surrounding matrix were mediated by species traits. Habitat specialists showed stronger boundary response, shorter step lengths, and smaller displacements than habitat generalists in both the fragments and the matrix. Their strong preferences for the fragments, coupled with low flight capabilities can make movement in the matrix particularly difficult. Whereas, at the landscape scale, habitat generalist omnivores and habitat specialist frugivores had larger step lengths than the other guilds, as they use the matrix for resources or as a conduit to movement. Therefore, the habitat fragments are intensely utilized and of conservation importance. The matrix quality and permeability can promote animal space use and movement.

Semi-domesticated reindeer avoid winter habitats with exotic tree species Pinus contorta

The introduction of exotic tree species can have profound effects on the native environment, including habitat use and movement patterns of animals, as well as becoming a management challenge for other land users. Here, we used GPS data from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and remote sensing measurements of lichen cover and soil moisture to assess the effects of the exotic lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) on reindeer husbandry by the Indigenous Sámi in northern Sweden. We used locational data from 67 reindeer for three winters to analyze their habitat selection at the second-order selection (placement of home range in the landscape) and third-order selection (selection of sites within the home range) in relation to land cover class, terricolous lichen cover as measure of winter forage abundance, topographic features, and distance to roads. We also analyzed remotely sensed abundance of lichens in different forest types, and the association between these forest types and soil moisture as measure of suitability as lichen habitat. Compared to native P. sylvestris, we found that reindeer avoided stands with P. contorta where trees were higher than three meters. If P. contorta was the dominant tree species, reindeer were 60 % less likely to select these stands compared to stands with P. sylvestris, and 40 % less likely if P. contorta was less dominant at both orders of selection. We also found that reindeer selected areas with higher lichen cover. Lichen cover was lower in P. contorta stands compared to stands of the native P. sylvestris, even though P. contorta occurred mainly on dry soils usually favorable for terricolous lichens. We conclude that planting P. contorta on soils suitable for terricolous lichens is likely to reduce forage availability for reindeer and turn habitats earlier preferred by reindeer into avoided habitat, resulting in an overall reduction of winter grazing grounds. The effects of stands with P. contorta, albeit covering a comparatively small percentage of the reindeer husbandry area, need to be seen in context with generally declining terricolous lichen abundance due to land uses like forestry and other cumulative effects by external pressures on reindeer husbandry.

Prospecting movements link phenotypic traits to female annual potential fitness in a nocturnal predator

Recent biologging technology reveals hidden life and breeding strategies of nocturnal animals. Combining animal movement patterns with individual characteristics and landscape features can uncover meaningful behaviours that directly influence fitness. Consequently, defining the proximate mechanisms and adaptive value of the identified behaviours is of paramount importance. Breeding female barn owls (Tyto alba), a colour-polymorphic species, recurrently visit other nest boxes at night. We described and quantified this behaviour for the first time, linking it with possible drivers, and individual fitness. We GPS-equipped 178 female barn owls and 122 male partners from 2016 to 2020 in western Switzerland during the chick rearing phase. We observed that 111 (65%) of the tracked breeding females were (re)visiting nest boxes while still carrying out their first brood. We modelled their prospecting parameters as a function of brood-, individual- and partner-related variables and found that female feather eumelanism predicted the emergence of prospecting behaviour (less melanic females are usually prospecting). More importantly we found that increasing male parental investment (e.g., feeding rate) increased female prospecting efforts. Ultimately, females would (re)visit a nest more often if they had used it in the past and were more likely to lay a second clutch afterwards, consequently having higher annual fecundity than non-prospecting females. Despite these apparent immediate benefits, they did not fledge more chicks. Through biologging and long-term field monitoring, we highlight how phenotypic traits (melanism and parental investment) can be related to movement patterns and the annual potential reproductive output (fecundity) of female barn owls.

Satellite tracking resident songbirds in tropical forests.

Advances in tracking technology have helped elucidate the movements of the planet's largest and most mobile species, but these animals do not represent faunal diversity as a whole. Tracking a more diverse array of animal species will enable testing of broad ecological and evolutionary hypotheses and aid conservation efforts. Small and sedentary species of the tropics make up a huge part of earth's animal diversity and are therefore key to this endeavor. Here, we investigated whether modern satellite tracking is a viable means for measuring the fine-scale movement patterns of such animals. We fitted five-gram solar-powered transmitters to resident songbirds in the rainforests of New Guinea, and analyzed transmission data collected over four years to evaluate movement detection and performance over time. Based upon the distribution of location fixes, and an observed home range shift by one individual, there is excellent potential to detect small movements of a few kilometers. The method also has clear limitations: total transmission periods were often short and punctuated by lapses; precision and accuracy of location fixes was limited and variable between study sites. However, impending reductions in transmitter size and price will alleviate many issues, further expanding options for tracking earth's faunal diversity.

Beetles on the move: Not‐just‐a‐technical review of beetles' radio‐tracking

AbstractRadio telemetry with very high‐frequency transmitters is a powerful tool for studying the movement patterns of animals. Although this tracking technology is widely utilized for various vertebrates, its application is limited to only a fraction of large‐bodied insect species. Among them, beetles are the most popular insect group used for radio‐tracking due to their relatively large body size, solid exoskeleton, and to some extent the well‐known ecological background of some species. Here, we review the available literature about radio telemetry applied to beetles, focusing on current methodological advantages and constraints to record their movement, as well as how this method can assist in understanding various ecological aspects of beetle life history. Regardless of the huge potential of radio‐tracking, the number of tracked beetle species is still very low, covering so far only 13 species belonging to five families that were studied almost exclusively in the Western Palearctic region. Most studies were descriptive, measuring simple trajectory parameters and examining movement behavior as a single strategy that is not triggered by any particular internal or external cues. Ecological aspects have been accessed to a lesser extent, especially in relation to the effects of abiotic factors and habitat use. There are still conceptual knowledge gaps: promising statistical approaches for movement analyses can connect movement patterns with specific habitat utilization but they are not yet used by entomologists. Moreover, knowing the movement patterns of many individuals and species can assist us to understand the composition and dynamics at the community level.

Bison movements change with weather: Implications for their continued conservation in the Anthropocene.

Animal movement patterns are affected by complex interactions between biotic and abiotic landscape conditions, and these patterns are being altered by weather variability associated with a changing climate. Some animals, like the American plains bison (Bison bison L.; hereafter, plains bison), are considered keystone species, thus their response to weather variability may alter ecosystem structure and biodiversity patterns. Many movement studies of plains bison and other ungulates have focused on point-pattern analyses (e.g., resource-selection) that have provided information about where these animals move, but information about when or why these animals move is limited. For example, information surrounding the influence of weather on plains bison movement in response to weather is limited but has important implications for their conservation in a changing climate. To explore how movement distance is affected by weather patterns and drought, we utilized 12-min GPS data from two of the largest plains bison herds in North America to model their response to weather and drought parameters using generalized additive mixed models. Distance moved was best predicted by air temperature, wind speed, and rainfall. However, air temperature best explained the variation in distance moved compared to any other single parameter we measured, predicting a 48% decrease in movement rates above 28°C. Moreover, severe drought (as indicated by 25-cm depth soil moisture) better predicted movement distance than moderate drought. The strong influence of weather and drought on plains bison movements observed in our study suggest that shifting climate and weather will likely affect plains bison movement patterns, further complicating conservation efforts for this wide-ranging keystone species. Moreover, changes in plains bison movement patterns may have cascading effects for grassland ecosystem structure, function, and biodiversity. Plains bison and grassland conservation efforts need to be proactive and adaptive when considering the implications of a changing climate on bison movement patterns.

Understanding anthropogenic impacts on zoogeochemistry is essential for ecological restoration

Ecological restoration is critical for climate and biodiversity resilience over the coming century. Today, there is strong evidence that wildlife can significantly influence the distribution and stoichiometry of elements across landscapes, with subsequent impacts on the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Consequently, any anthropogenic activity that modifies this important aspect of zoogeochemistry, such as changes to animal community composition, diet, or movement patterns, may support or hinder restoration goals. It is therefore imperative that the zoogeochemical effects of such anthropogenic modifications are quantified and mapped at high spatiotemporal resolutions to help inform restoration strategies. Here, we first discuss pathways through which human activities shape wildlife‐mediated elemental landscapes and outline why current frameworks are inadequate to characterize these processes. We then suggest improvements required to comprehensively model, validate, and monitor element recycling and redistribution by wildlife under differing wildlife management scenarios and discuss how this might be implemented in practice through a specific example in the southern Kalahari Desert. With robust ecological forecasting, zoogeochemical impacts of wildlife can thus be used to support ecological restoration and nature‐based solutions to climate change. If ignored in the restoration process, the effects of wildlife on elemental landscapes may delay, or even prevent, restoration success.

Special Feature: Linking capture-recapture and movement.

Special Feature: Linking capture-recapture and movement.