학술논문

Movement-Based Estimation and Visualization of Space Use in 3D for Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.
Document Type
Article
Source
PLoS ONE. Jul2014, Vol. 9 Issue 7, p1-15. 15p.
Subject
*SPACE (Architecture)
*VISUALIZATION
*ANIMAL ecology
*WILDLIFE conservation
*BIOTELEMETRY
*KERNEL (Mathematics)
*ANIMAL species
Language
ISSN
1932-6203
Abstract
Advances in digital biotelemetry technologies are enabling the collection of bigger and more accurate data on the movements of free-ranging wildlife in space and time. Although many biotelemetry devices record 3D location data with x, y, and z coordinates from tracked animals, the third z coordinate is typically not integrated into studies of animal spatial use. Disregarding the vertical component may seriously limit understanding of animal habitat use and niche separation. We present novel movement-based kernel density estimators and computer visualization tools for generating and exploring 3D home ranges based on location data. We use case studies of three wildlife species – giant panda, dugong, and California condor – to demonstrate the ecological insights and conservation management benefits provided by 3D home range estimation and visualization for terrestrial, aquatic, and avian wildlife research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]