ROBUST STATE-SPACE MODELING OF ANIMAL MOVEMENT DATA

Remotely sensed tracking data collected on animal movement is vastly un- derutilized due to a lack of statistical tools for appropriate analysis. Features of such data that make analysis particularly challenging include the presence of estimation errors that are non-Gaussian and vary in time, observations that occur irregularly in time, and com- plexity in the underlying behavioral processes. We develop a state-space framework that simultaneously deals with these features and demonstrate our method by analyzing three seal pathway data sets. We show how known information regarding error distributions can be used to improve inference of the underlying process(es) and demonstrate that our frame- work provides a powerful and flexible method for fitting different behavioral models to tracking data.

[1]  Deborah Austin,et al.  A THREE‐STAGE ALGORITHM FOR FILTERING ERRONEOUS ARGOS SATELLITE LOCATIONS , 2003 .

[2]  D Grünbaum,et al.  Using Spatially Explicit Models to Characterize Foraging Performance in Heterogeneous Landscapes , 1998, The American Naturalist.

[3]  P. Turchin.  Quantitative analysis of movement : measuring and modeling population redistribution in animals and plants , 1998 .

[4]  W. D. Ray.  Time series models, second edition : Andrew C. Harvey, 1993, (Harvester-Wheatsheaf, New York) xviii + 308 pp., [UK pound]14.99 (paperback), ISBN 0-7450-1200-0 , 1993 .

[5]  Bernie J. McConnell,et al.  ASSESSMENT OF ARGOS LOCATION ACCURACY FROM SATELLITE TAGS DEPLOYED ON CAPTIVE GRAY SEALS , 2002 .

[6]  R Anderson-Sprecher.  Robust estimates of wildlife location using telemetry data. , 1994, Biometrics.

[7]  C. Clark,et al.  Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology , 2000 .

[8]  Bradley P. Carlin,et al.  Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit , 2002 .

[9]  Kevin C. Weng,et al.  Validation of geolocation estimates based on light level and sea surface temperature from electronic tags , 2004 .

[10]  Alessandro Sale,et al.  Current transport of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the ocean , 2003, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[11]  Bernie J. McConnell,et al.  Foraging ecology of southern elephant seals in relation to the bathymetry and productivity of the Southern Ocean , 1992, Antarctic Science.

[12]  Juan M. Morales,et al.  EXTRACTING MORE OUT OF RELOCATION DATA: BUILDING MOVEMENT MODELS AS MIXTURES OF RANDOM WALKS , 2004 .

[13]  Ian D. Jonsen,et al.  META‐ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL MOVEMENT USING STATE‐SPACE MODELS , 2003 .