Mechanistic home range models and resource selection analysis: a reconciliation and unification

Abstract

In the three decades since its introduction, resource selection analysis (RSA) has become a widespread method for analyzing spatial patterns of animal relocations obtained from telemetry studies. Recently, mechanistic home range models have been proposed as an alternative framework for studying patterns of animal space use. In contrast to RSA models, mechanistic home range models are derived from underlying mechanistic descriptions of individual movement behavior and yield spatially-explicit predictions for patterns of animal space-use. In addition, their mechanistic underpinning means that, unlike RSA, mechanistic home range models can also be used to predict changes in space-use following perturbation. In this paper, we develop a formal reconciliation between these two methods of home range analysis, showing how differences in the habitat preferences of individuals give rise to spatially-explicit patterns of space-use. The resulting unified framework combines the simplicity of resource selection analysis with the spatially-explicit and predictive capabilities of mechanistic home range models.