Fractal measures of female caribou movements
Understanding caribou movement during short-term searches for specific habitats, potential mates, and refugia against predators can help resolve ecological questions on how individual caribou perceive their environment. We used measures of fractal dimension and standardized pathlength to compare the...
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Septentrio Academic Publishing
2011
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:871b9ac7150e4300bc06fa10dc08e3f0 2023-05-15T15:53:23+02:00 Fractal measures of female caribou movements Steven H. Ferguson W. James Rettie Francois Messier 2011-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7557/2.18.5.1551 https://doaj.org/article/871b9ac7150e4300bc06fa10dc08e3f0 EN eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1551 https://doaj.org/toc/1890-6729 doi:10.7557/2.18.5.1551 1890-6729 https://doaj.org/article/871b9ac7150e4300bc06fa10dc08e3f0 Rangifer, Vol 18, Iss 5 (2011) caribou movement caribou behaviour fractal dimension hierarchy landscape movement pathway Animal culture SF1-1100 article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7557/2.18.5.1551 2022-12-31T12:31:58Z Understanding caribou movement during short-term searches for specific habitats, potential mates, and refugia against predators can help resolve ecological questions on how individual caribou perceive their environment. We used measures of fractal dimension and standardized pathlength to compare the movement pathways of female caribou. Satellite telemetry locations were collected over a 2-year study, March 1994 to mid-May 1996, for a caribou population in central Saskatchewan living in the southern boreal forest. Female caribou displayed more random searching behaviour during winter and more regular dispersal movements during early winter/spring and autumn periods. Females with a calf showed no difference in movement pattern (fractal dimension) relative to females without a calf but their standardized path length was shorter. We discuss the advantages of using fractal dimension as a measure of the tortuosity of movement pathways and how changes in fractal dimension over a range of scales can define domains of consistent ecological processes. Article in Journal/Newspaper caribou Rangifer Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Rangifer 139 147 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
caribou movement caribou behaviour fractal dimension hierarchy landscape movement pathway Animal culture SF1-1100 |
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caribou movement caribou behaviour fractal dimension hierarchy landscape movement pathway Animal culture SF1-1100 Steven H. Ferguson W. James Rettie Francois Messier Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
topic_facet |
caribou movement caribou behaviour fractal dimension hierarchy landscape movement pathway Animal culture SF1-1100 |
description |
Understanding caribou movement during short-term searches for specific habitats, potential mates, and refugia against predators can help resolve ecological questions on how individual caribou perceive their environment. We used measures of fractal dimension and standardized pathlength to compare the movement pathways of female caribou. Satellite telemetry locations were collected over a 2-year study, March 1994 to mid-May 1996, for a caribou population in central Saskatchewan living in the southern boreal forest. Female caribou displayed more random searching behaviour during winter and more regular dispersal movements during early winter/spring and autumn periods. Females with a calf showed no difference in movement pattern (fractal dimension) relative to females without a calf but their standardized path length was shorter. We discuss the advantages of using fractal dimension as a measure of the tortuosity of movement pathways and how changes in fractal dimension over a range of scales can define domains of consistent ecological processes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steven H. Ferguson W. James Rettie Francois Messier |
author_facet |
Steven H. Ferguson W. James Rettie Francois Messier |
author_sort |
Steven H. Ferguson |
title |
Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
title_short |
Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
title_full |
Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
title_fullStr |
Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fractal measures of female caribou movements |
title_sort |
fractal measures of female caribou movements |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7557/2.18.5.1551 https://doaj.org/article/871b9ac7150e4300bc06fa10dc08e3f0 |
genre |
caribou Rangifer |
genre_facet |
caribou Rangifer |
op_source |
Rangifer, Vol 18, Iss 5 (2011) |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1551 https://doaj.org/toc/1890-6729 doi:10.7557/2.18.5.1551 1890-6729 https://doaj.org/article/871b9ac7150e4300bc06fa10dc08e3f0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/2.18.5.1551 |
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Rangifer |
container_start_page |
139 |
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147 |
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1766388515919101952 |