Database Reference
In-Depth Information
availability of large data sets on animal behavior. Spatial databases represent a
new challenge and opportunity for scientists. On one hand, suitable analytical
methods are needed, on the other hand this requires the application of appropriate
data management tools. The amount of movement data recorded on hundreds
of species and many thousands of individuals has accumulated over the last
20 years. This represents a “treasure” and allows researchers to study species
at their distribution ranges, and to address “general questions.” Examples are
MoveBank,
2
TOPP,
3
and EURODEER.
4
13.2.3 Emerging Theories
New paradigms and technical challenges have recently pervaded the analysis
of animal movement. On the empirical side, the extensive use of biologgers
grants for the first time systematic access to animal-borne information, such
as positional, behavioral, physiological, and environmental parameters. At the
theoretical level, the large amount of quantitative data thus obtained naturally
encourages the development of new analytical concepts and computational tools
to analyze and understand movement and its associated behaviors/parameters.
Large amounts of data can be first screened with
data mining
automatic proce-
dures, which can search for inner consistent structure of data. These procedures
can prove very useful, but they have to be supervised by sound ecological
interpretations. On a theoretical level, a unifying framework and an integra-
tive paradigm for animal movement has been recently proposed, referred to as
movement ecology
:
the proposed framework integrates eclectic research on movement
into a structured paradigm and aims at providing a basis for hypoth-
esis generation and a vehicle facilitating the understanding of the
causes, mechanisms, and spatio-temporal patterns of movement and
their role in various ecological and evolutionary processes. (Nathan
et al., 2008: 19052)
Movement ecology aims to become an hypothesis-based (sensu Karl Popper)
discipline where theory dictates experiments and observations. Ecological stud-
ies (1) have a strong interest for the orienting mechanisms underneath animal
movement (e.g., kinesis, navigation), (2) stress the importance of adaptive value
of these movements (e.g., risk avoidance, resource gathering), and (3) model the
consequences of individual movements at the level of social group and popula-
tion (e.g., flocking behavior, diffusion). The ecologist is not especially interested
in knowing what a given whale or deer is doing, but is interested in deducing gen-
eral features (the tactics) of one species movement from a sample of individual
2
http://www.movebank.org
3
http://www.topp.org
4
http://www.eurodeer.org
