The study of animal movement has always been a key element in ecological science, because it is inherently linked to critical processes that scale from individuals to populations and communities to ecosystems. Rapid improvements in biotelemetry data collection and processing technology have given rise to a variety of statistical methods for characterizing animal movement. The book serves as a comprehensive reference for the types of statistical models used to study individual-based animal movement. Animal Movement is an essential reference for wildlife biologists, quantitative ecologists, and statisticians who seek a deeper understanding of modern animal movement models. A wide variety of modeling approaches are reconciled in the book using a consistent notation. Models are organized into groups based on how they treat the underlying spatio-temporal process of movement. Connections among approaches are highlighted to allow the reader to form a broader view of animal movement analysis and its associations with traditional spatial and temporal statistical modeling. After an initial overview examining the role that animal movement plays in ecology, a primer on spatial and temporal statistics provides a solid foundation for the remainder of the book. Each subsequent chapter outlines a fundamental type of statistical model utilized in the contemporary analysis of telemetry data for animal movement inference. Descriptions begin with basic traditional forms and sequentially build up to general classes of models in each category. Important background and technical details for each class of model are provided, including spatial point process models, discrete-time dynamic models, and continuous-time stochastic process models. The book also covers the essential elements for how to accommodate multiple sources of uncertainty, such as location error and latent behavior states. In addition to thorough descriptions of animal movement models, differences and connections are also emphasized to provide a broader perspective of approaches.

Tracking Animal Migration with Stable Isotopes provides a consolidated overview of the current knowledge of stable isotopes in terrestrial migration research questions. It offers ecologists and conservation biologists provide a practical handbook for those considering using stable isotopes in their migration research. - Presents information for readers to understand how to apply isotopic methods for tracking - Critical information on areas for future research - Practical guidelines and discussions of sample collection, sample preparation, and data analysis - Enhanced understanding of data and statistical analysis in isotope-based studies of migratory animals

The scientific study of networks - computer, social, and biological - has received an enormous amount of interest in recent years. However, the network approach has been applied to the field of animal behaviour relatively late compared to many other biological disciplines. Understanding social network structure is of great importance for biologists since the structural characteristics of any network will affect its constituent members and influence a range of diverse behaviours. These include finding and choosing a sexual partner, developing and maintaining cooperative relationships, and engaging in foraging and anti-predator behavior. This novel text provides an overview of the insights that network analysis has provided into major biological processes, and how it has enhanced our understanding of the social organisation of several important taxonomic groups. It brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing both an overview of the power of the network approach for understanding patterns and process in animal populations, as well as outlining how current methodological constraints and challenges can be overcome. Animal Social Networks is principally aimed at graduate level students and researchers in the fields of ecology, zoology, animal behaviour, and evolutionary biology but will also be of interest to social scientists.

Hydroinformatics addresses cross-disciplinary issues ranging from technological and sociological to more general environmental concerns, including an ethical perspective. It covers the application of information technology in the widest sense to problems of the aquatic environment.This two-volume publication contains about 250 high quality papers contributed by authors from over 50 countries. The proceedings present many exciting new findings in the emerging subjects, as well as their applications, such as: data mining, data assimilation, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms and genetic programming, chaos theory and support vector machines, geographic information systems and virtual imaging, decision support and management systems, Internet-based technologies.This book provides an excellent reference to researchers, graduate students, practitioners, and all those interested in the field of hydroinformatics.

Hydroinformatics addresses cross-disciplinary issues ranging from technological and sociological to more general environmental concerns, including an ethical perspective. It covers the application of information technology in the widest sense to problems of the aquatic environment.This two-volume publication contains about 250 high quality papers contributed by authors from over 50 countries. The proceedings present many exciting new findings in the emerging subjects, as well as their applications, such as: data mining, data assimilation, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms and genetic programming, chaos theory and support vector machines, geographic information systems and virtual imaging, decision support and management systems, Internet-based technologies.This book provides an excellent reference to researchers, graduate students, practitioners, and all those interested in the field of hydroinformatics.

Marine mammals face a large array of stressors, including loss of habitat, chemical and noise pollution, and bycatch in fishing, which alone kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals per year globally. To discern the factors contributing to population trends, scientists must consider the full complement of threats faced by marine mammals. Once populations or ecosystems are found to be at risk of adverse impacts, it is critical to decide which combination of stressors to reduce to bring the population or ecosystem into a more favorable state. Assessing all stressors facing a marine mammal population also provides the environmental context for evaluating whether an additional activity could threaten it. Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals builds upon previous reports to assess current methodologies used for evaluating cumulative effects and identify new approaches that could improve these assessments. This review focuses on ways to quantify exposure-related changes in the behavior, health, or body condition of individual marine mammals and makes recommendations for future research initiatives.