Joint species movement modeling: how do traits influence movements?

Author(s)

Ovaskainen, Otso ^{[1, 2]} ; Ramos, Danielle Leal ^[3] ; Slade, Eleanor M. ^[4] ; Merckx, Thomas ^[5] ; Tikhonov, Gleb ^[1] ; Pennanen, Juho ^[1] ; Pizo, Marco Aurelio ^[6] ; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar ^[3] ; Manuel Morales, Juan ^[7]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Helsinki, Organismal & Evolutionary Biol Res Programme, POB 65, FIN-00014 Helsinki - Finland

^[2] Norwegian Univ Sci & Technol, Ctr Biodivers Dynam, Dept Biol, N-7491 Trondheim - Norway

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Oxford, Dept Zool, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3PS - England

^[5] UCLouvain, Earth & Life Inst, Biodivers Res Ctr, Behav Ecol & Conservat Grp, Croix Sud 4-5, Bte L7-07-04, BE-1348 Louvain La Neuve - Belgium

^[6] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[7] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, CRUB, INIBIOMA, Grp Ecol, Ave Pioneros 2350, San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro - Argentina

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ECOLOGY; v. 100, n. 4 APR 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 4

Abstract

Joint species distribution modeling has enabled researchers to move from species-level to community-level analyses, leading to statistically more efficient and ecologically more informative use of data. Here, we propose joint species movement modeling (JSMM) as an analogous approach that enables inferring both species- and community-level movement parameters from multispecies movement data. The species-level movement parameters are modeled as a function of species traits and phylogenetic relationships, allowing one to ask how species traits influence movements, and whether phylogenetically related species are similar in their movement behavior. We illustrate the modeling framework with two contrasting case studies: a stochastic redistribution model for direct observations of bird movements and a spatially structured diffusion model for capture-recapture data on moth movements. In both cases, the JSMM identified several traits that explain differences in movement behavior among species, such as movement rate increasing with body size in both birds and moths. We show with simulations that the JSMM approach increases precision of species-specific parameter estimates by borrowing information from other species that are closely related or have similar traits. The JSMM framework is applicable for many kinds of data, and it facilitates a mechanistic understanding of the causes and consequences of interspecific variation in movement behavior. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50421-2 - New sampling methods and statistical tools for biodiversity research: integrating animal movement ecology with population and community ecology
• Grantee: Milton Cezar Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants