Animal migration is an adaptive strategy for exploiting spatio-temporal fluctuations in resource availability, where site fidelity provides advantages under predictable conditions. However, under global climate change and habitat degradation, it remains unclear how waterbirds adjust trade-offs between spatial memory and habitat exploration in response to environmental fluctuations. Poyang Lake, the most important wintering site in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, is facing an increasing frequency of extreme drought events, offering a natural experiment to investigate these behavioral adjustments. This study integrated high-resolution GPS tracking data (2018–2025) from 27 Tundra Bean Geese (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), including 16 individuals tracked for ≥ 4 years, with hydrological dynamics. We classified sequential trajectories based on the relationships between current and historical utilization distributions, defining six spatio-temporal categories. A dual-track analytical approach was implemented: the first evaluated responses of population and individual home range shifts to water levels, while the second identified stable behavioral strategies via dimension-reduction clustering. Finally, linear mixed-effects models revealed strategy-specific responses to drought. At the population level, home range area expanded significantly as water levels declined ( β=-1071.62,P=0.005 ); individual responses varied. Three distinct movement strategies were identified: (1) Faithful, maintaining high site fidelity via Persistent Core (47.2
American common eiders (Somateria mollissima dresseri) are ecologically and culturally important sea ducks in northeastern North America. Female eiders may not breed every year, making breeding propensity (the proportion of sexually mature females breeding in a given year) a key demographic parameter. We investigated regional variation in breeding propensity across the subspecies’ range using fine-scale movement data collected by satellite telemetry. Females were captured across six regions (Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Québec, Newfoundland, Labrador) and fitted with platform terminal transmitters (PTT). After filtering, movement data from 123 individuals over three years (2022–2024), resulting in 197 unique bird-breeding seasons, were analyzed using a three-state hidden Markov model. Three behavioral movement states—limited, localized, and mobile —served as proxies for nesting, foraging/loafing, and transit, respectively. A decision tree classified breeding status into successful nesting, failed nesting, prospecting, or skipped breeding. Overall breeding propensity was only 53
Movement ecology has entered an era of unprecedented data abundance, yet contemporary GPS datasets present analytical challenges due to temporal autocorrelation between consecutive locations. Continuous-time movement modelling (CTMM) addresses these challenges by treating movement as a stochastic process unfolding continuously through space and time, producing parameter estimates of movement metrics that are invariant to sampling schedule. Here we apply CTMM to a comprehensive GPS telemetry dataset from 230 koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) tracked across seven populations throughout New South Wales, Australia – a first for this species at scale. Our primary aim was to characterise fundamental movement attributes and provide evidence-based recommendations for telemetry study design in this threatened species. All koala datasets exhibited clear evidence of autocorrelation, and we observed substantial variation in home range size and diffusion rates among study regions, consistent with broad environmental gradients spanning productive coastal and riparian habitats to drier, fragmented inland landscapes. Despite 7–10 fold variation in home range size and diffusion rates at a population level, the temporal structure of koala movement was remarkably consistent across all populations. Range crossing times and directional persistence timescales showed little regional variation, suggesting these timescales reflect intrinsic biological constraints rather than being driven by local environmental conditions. Sexual dimorphism in space use and movement rates was also consistent across all regions: male home ranges were approximately twice the size of females regardless of local habitat conditions, and males consistently moved throughout broader areas each day. These autocorrelation timescales have important implications for telemetry study design and broader monitoring programs. Irrespective of sampling frequency, the slow range crossing time of koalas indicates that deployments of at least 3–5 weeks are necessary for reliable home range estimation. Directional persistence timescales suggest fix intervals under three hours are required to resolve fine-scale movement behaviors such as speed and distance travelled. When identifying contact events between individuals is an objective, high resolution sampling (i.e. 30 min or less) is required. This study demonstrates how CTMM can extract fundamental movement parameters from GPS data to simultaneously address autocorrelation in movement trajectories, advance ecological understanding and optimize future monitoring efforts for threatened species. Not applicable.
Homing flights of pigeon flocks require rapid adjustments in individual behaviour while maintaining group cohesion. However, how heading adjustments and coordinated movement changes are temporally organised during continuous flight, and whether they form repeatable collective movement modes, remain poorly characterised. During homing flights of domestic pigeon (Columba livia) flocks, we synchronously recorded individual GPS trajectories and inertial measurement data. After standardised preprocessing, candidate flock-level kinematic features were constructed to characterise flock movement changes across six aspects: flock-level turning intensity, acceleration intensity, turning consistency, acceleration consistency, turning directionality and acceleration directionality. After comparing candidate input schemes, four flock-level kinematic indicators were selected as model inputs. A hidden semi-Markov model with an explicit duration structure was then used to perform unsupervised segmentation of continuous homing flights. We identified five collective movement modes that were comparable across flight trials. In addition to steady cruising, coordinated counterclockwise turning and coordinated clockwise turning, two modes were identified that were difficult to distinguish from flock trajectory geometry alone. The first was rapid collective reorientation, which showed the highest flock-level turning intensity, acceleration intensity and turning consistency, but whose turning directionality was not fixed to a single clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The second was a transition mode that connected different movement modes during mode switching. All five modes recurred during homing flights, with overall occupancies of 10.5
Collective movement is fundamental in animal societies, yet how the drivers of leadership roles change across an individual’s lifespan remains poorly understood. In particular, the combined effects of age and social factors on movement initiation lack investigation over biologically meaningful timescales, as most prior studies are limited to short-term observations. We analyzed a longitudinal dataset (2012–2023) from a group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in Huangshan, China. Using analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and generalized additive models, we examined how age, social rank, and social relationships influenced movement initiation. Females initiated group movements more frequently than males. The tendency of females to act as initiators followed a unimodal distribution across age groups, increasing from youth to midlife before declining in older adults. Among old females (≥ 15 years), initiation rates correlated negatively with age, whereas male initiation patterns remained stable with age. In these aging females, higher social rank and greater centrality in proximity-based social networks were key predictors of successful initiation. Our long-term dataset reveals that leadership dynamics in collective movement, particularly among females, are governed by the interplay of age, social status, and social connectivity, highlighting how aging factors delicately shape decision-making processes in group-living animals.
Migration plays a crucial role in the annual cycle of migratory birds. The Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata arquata, a species of high conservation concern in Great Britain, exhibits a wide range of migratory behaviours across its western distribution, from resident and short-distance movements to long-distance migrations along the East Atlantic Flyway. However, migratory behaviours of British-breeding curlews remain poorly studied. In particular, the ecological and life-history factors underlying variation in migration, such as timing and duration, remain unclear in this declining species. We used GPS-tracking data from 80 Eurasian curlews breeding across a 703-km latitudinal gradient in Great Britain to examine how migration behaviours are influenced by sex, breeding-site latitude, local weather conditions, individual repeatability and reproductive success. Statistical analyses assessed relationships between these variables and timing of migration events. We found various sex-specific migration behaviours indicating contrasting selection pressures. Curlews breeding at higher latitudes (Scotland and northern England) left wintering sites earlier and departed breeding sites later than birds breeding at lower latitudes (southern England), although both groups arrived at breeding sites at similar times. Breeding-site latitude also affected migration distance, duration and speed in both pre- and post-breeding migration. Although migration timing was consistent within individuals across years, timing also varied with local weather conditions. Warmer temperatures were associated with earlier pre-breeding departures and arrivals, whereas post-breeding movements occurred later under warmer, wetter and calmer conditions. Timing of post-breeding migration was related to reproductive outcomes: successful breeders departed later, likely reflecting parental care of broods. This effect was driven by southern birds, which showed overall lower breeding success and departed earlier than northern birds. Our main results reveal clear individual and latitudinal variation in curlew migration behaviour, with reproductive success influencing migration timing. These findings underscore the need to integrate life-history context into migration research, as spatial variation in breeding success, influenced by land-use and management, and climate change, can produce systematic differences in migratory timing. Such differences may influence subsequent habitat use across the annual cycle, with potential consequences for population dynamics and conservation of declining migratory wader species such as Eurasian curlews.
Individual variation in animal movement and habitat selection is increasingly recognised as a structurally important component of population ecology, yet the magnitude and temporal consistency of foraging movement specialisation remain poorly characterised in inland-breeding waterbirds. Inland populations of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) exploit a mosaic of freshwater habitat types in anthropogenic landscapes and generate recurrent conflict with fisheries. Whether individuals consistently differ in foraging movement tactics across habitat types and seasons has not been established. We deployed solar-powered GPS transmitters on 24 Great Cormorants (5 adults, 19 fledglings) from an inland-breeding colony at Lake Balaton, Central Europe, between 2021 and 2023 (mean deployment duration: 190 days). Across six freshwater habitat types (fishponds, rivers, lakes, wetlands, regulated water bodies, river arms/oxbow lakes), we recorded 249,097 daytime fixes and 20,678 speed-classified foraging locations. Individual variation in seasonal foraging habitat use profiles was quantified using PERMANOVA and ANOSIM on Bray–Curtis dissimilarities; temporal consistency was estimated as adjusted repeatability via linear mixed models. Individual identity accounted for 73.6
In a rapidly warming Arctic, seabirds serve as sentinels of ecosystem change, reflecting shifts in oceanographic conditions and prey dynamics. The Little Auk Alle alle is a High-Arctic zooplanktivorous seabird that forages mainly on cold-water Calanus spp. during the breeding period. To assess its response to high interannual variability in environmental conditions and prey availability, we investigated the foraging ecology of chick-rearing adults breeding in one colony on Spitsbergen over a period of five hydrographically contrasting years. Based on previous studies we considered three potential foraging strategies adopted by Little Auks: optimal (optimal foraging conditions), effort (unfavorable conditions) and reactive (intermediate conditions). To investigate Little Auks foraging behavior we used Temperature-Depth Recorders (TDRs) combined with Global Positioning System (GPS) loggers. To assess prey availability, we used Laser Optical Plankton Counter (LOPC) coupled with a conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) sensor to collect at-sea high resolution zooplankton distribution data across bird’s feeding grounds. Based on those data we modelled Calanus spp. abundance between and within years at different combinations of depth and temperature to show variability of foraging condition within the water column. We characterized diving patterns of Little Auks using a Self-Organizing Map, an artificial neural network, based on 10 TDR-based parameters of dives. We distinguished three diving modes differing in dive duration, depth and shape: short, shallow dives (SSM), intermediate dives (IIU), and deep long dives (DLV). Little Auks adopted two primary strategies: optimal-foraging, dominated by SSM targeting the preferred prey; and reactive-foraging, combining SSM and DLV and supplementing the preferred food with alternative prey. Birds switched between both foraging strategies across years depending on hydrographic conditions which influence the availability of preferred prey. Surprisingly, the optimal-foraging occurred in environmentally contrasted years: in the coldest (2021), the warmest (2023) and the mixed-regime (2024) year. The reactive-foraging prevailed in warm (2018) and mixed-regime (2022) years. In all years, the preferred prey Calanus glacialis was supplemented in various proportions by other prey items like Calanus finmarchicus, larvae of Euphausiacea or larvae of hermit crab Pagurus spp. Our study indicates foraging flexibility of Little Auks in a changing High Arctic environment.
Large carnivores often share space yet face strong interference risks, raising a key question: when co-occurrence is observed, is their interaction intentional (attraction or avoidance) or incidental (random encounters)? Most overlap metrics blur this distinction and miss lagged or indirect interactions that may structure coexistence. We present a time-geographic framework to determine whether interactions are intentional or random, and at what temporal scales they occur, using a case study of tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus) in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand. Using rich long-term GPS tracking data from six tigers and five leopards with overlapping home ranges collected between 2017 and 2021, yielding 17 tiger-leopard dyads, we quantify interaction frequency and duration across sequential temporal partitions and test intentionality using a null model of correlated random walks. This approach reveals the dynamics of co-existence and competition between the two species. We further analyze these dynamics at the dyad level and in relation to prey distribution to assess how mapped large-bodied prey context mediates interspecific competition. Our results indicate that temporal staggering around prey patches, rather than pure spatial segregation, underpins tiger–leopard coexistence. Specifically, the analysis reveals two broader recurring interaction patterns: stable coexistence and home range shift competition, together with one rare high-conflict case. This framework separates intentional from incidental overlap, linking interaction regimes to prey landscapes and life history in multi-predator systems.
A seabird’s ability to efficiently find prey directly affects reproduction, and seabird population declines are frequently linked to forage fish depletion. Reduced forage fish availability often limits seabird egg production and chick provisioning, but impacts to foraging movements remain largely unresolved, as does the effect of movement flexibility on provisioning and reproduction in conditions of reduced forage fish availability. This study assesses drivers of foraging movement and the role of foraging movement in mediating provisioning and reproduction in a central place foraging seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo), by integrating movement (GPS telemetry), chick provisioning, and reproductive productivity data. Data were collected across four breeding seasons (2021–2024) on the largest common tern colony in the Gulf of Maine, where ocean warming is precipitating shifts in forage fish populations. In poor prey and productivity years, when clutch size (eggs per nest), fledging success, and provisioning of preferred prey (herrings [Clupea harengus, Alosa spp.], hakes/rockling [Merluccius bilinearis, Urophycis spp., Enchelyopus cimbrius], sand lances [Ammodytes spp.]) were reduced, common terns increased foraging trip durations by 23
BACKGROUND:Agricultural intensification is a major driver of land use change, thereby reducing biodiversity and leading to population declines across various animal groups. In response, animals can mediate some negative fitness impacts and navigate through agricultural landscapes with reduced resource availability by changing their habitat selection via movement decisions - particularly when constrained by central-place foraging, which requires balancing travel costs against energetic returns. METHODS:Here, using miniature ATLAS tags (Advanced Tracking and Localisation of Animals in real-life Systems), we tracked 101 house martins and 87 barn swallows at high-resolution to investigate their state-specific habitat selection and mapped the insect abundance and diversity across an intensively used agricultural landscape. RESULTS:Both species mainly avoided arable fields and increasingly selected for forests and water bodies with distance from the colonies. House martins ranged farther from colonies than barn swallows and also showed strong distance-dependent selection for structurally complex habitats, such as extensive grasslands and green areas within villages. Furthermore, house martins selected for proximity to water bodies, while barn swallows' selection focused on proximity to woody vegetation structures. During our 2023 insect sampling window, habitat selection tracked mapped insect richness more closely than mapped insect abundance. CONCLUSIONS:Distance-dependent divergence in space use suggests horizontal niche differentiation between sympatric central-place foragers, with potential implications for coexistence. Combined, our findings point to the importance of maintaining extensively used grasslands and small-scale habitat structures within intensively managed farmland to improve the abundance and diversity of prey for farmland passerines.
Abstract Background The increasing importance of wildlife movement data in ecology and conservation has fueled the development of Automated Radiotelemetry Systems (ARTS) using very-high-frequency (VHF) transmitters. To make optimal use of this data, highly precise analysis methods are needed to detect even small-scale movement changes and thus provide high data quality. While various approaches have successfully minimized position errors in ARTS, they mostly rely on a single mean error estimate. Methods We present two contributions. First, an antenna geometry-based position finding method (antenna beams) for small scale movements that reduces position errors (PE) and increases the number of position estimates. Second, a model for per-position error estimation, predicting error as a function of signal and position characteristics, applicable for data without ground-truth information and across various position finding methods. Using ground-truth data from VHF transmitters recorded simultaneously with the ARTS trackIT and GPS, we validated and compared yield, position errors and predictive performance of our approach with the common angulation and multilateration methods. Results Our antenna beam-based method provided a substantial alternative to angulation for directional set-ups, achieving comparable mean PEs (41 m vs. 44 m) and especially higher number of localizations (up to 99% vs. 30 to 66%). The per-position error estimation model demonstrated a strong predictive performance (mean absolute deviation from true error down to 21 m) utilizing parameters such as the number of participating stations and antennas, maximum signal strength, normalized summed up signal strengths and positioning within the study area. Conclusions Our results indicate that (i) the antenna beam-based position-finding method outperforms common methods in both accuracy and yield, (ii) the novel introduced per-position error estimation model reliably reflects measured PE from ground-truth data, and (iii) the resulting setup provides a robust foundation for high-resolution wildlife movement analyses.
Collective movement in social organisms emerges from local interactions and can generate large-scale spatial patterns of ecological relevance. In termites, trail formation is a well-known collective phenomenon, yet reproducing and recording its emergence under controlled laboratory conditions using whole colonies remains challenging. Existing laboratory approaches often rely on confined arenas or manually assembled subgroups, which can restrict movement and limit observation of colony-level dynamics. Here, we present a semi-folded arena designed for whole-colony observation of termite movement under controlled conditions. We developed a circular semi-folded arena that remained continuously connected to an intact nest and allowed individuals to move across a central observation surface while recirculating through a folded peripheral section. Using whole colonies of the Neotropical termite Constrictotermes cyphergaster, we recorded exploratory activity under baseline conditions, in the absence of added food or water. High-resolution video recordings were analysed using automated movement extraction to recover trajectories and visualise collective trail structure. Within the first 6 min of activity, collective trail structure was observed in 15 of the 16 colonies analysed. Under these conditions, the semi-folded setup captured early collective trail structure, visible as convergence of cumulative trajectories along shared routes radiating from the arena entrance region. Automated movement extraction was compatible with dense whole-colony recordings and yielded large quantities of positional data during the initial observation interval. Descriptive trajectory-based outputs, including speed distributions for workers and soldiers, showed that the recordings were suitable for recovery of fine-scale movement information. Repeatedly used routes were also often marked by visible dark traces on the paper lining by the end of the observations, providing a qualitative record of cumulative route use. The semi-folded arena provides a practical method for recording whole-colony termite movement under laboratory conditions while maintaining continuous nest access and avoiding manual transfer of individuals during trials. Rather than replacing conventional arena designs, this approach offers an additional methodological option for studying emergent movement patterns in species for which whole-colony observation is feasible. More broadly, it expands the experimental toolkit available for investigating colony-scale spatial organisation under controlled conditions.
Identifying the determinants of juvenile survival is crucial for understanding the population ecology of long-lived species, where parental guidance can influence naive juvenile survival rates. In southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), offspring receive no foraging site knowledge from their parents, only fat reserves. We focus on how movement patterns during the pups’ maiden foraging trip influence their survival at Macquarie Island. We tracked weaned pups with satellite tags during their post-weaning migration and compared their movements to the post-moult winter migrations of adult females. We found that pups travelled predominantly in an easterly to south-easterly direction, in line with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current may provide a passive survival advantage for naive pups, with current-following predicting survival probability. We propose an “accessibility area” concept in which currents expand the foraging area accessible to energy-limited pups, providing a theoretical framework that may apply broadly to marine species with naive dispersing juveniles. Adult females showed different dispersal patterns, travelling southwards towards Antarctic waters, suggesting that learned experience may influence their direction.
Abstract Understanding the scale and characteristics of animal movements allows for effective species management. These movement characteristics can vary widely within a species, so there is a need to understand and account for the spectrum of movement behaviours within a population. Movement ecology studies of freshwater fish predominantly aim to uncover environmental correlates of population-wide movement behaviours. However, few studies consider the specific movement types that may exist within a species or population. This is somewhat surprising considering the importance of fish movement and migration in determining population characteristics and species persistence over time. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to investigate the role and extent of intrapopulation variation in the movement behaviour of golden perch ( Macquaria ambigua , Percichthyidae) in the Condamine-Balonne River system, Australia. After tracking 132 individuals between 2018 and 2025, we employed a novel approach to characterise annual fish movement behaviour into distinct movement groups using a suite of movement data metrics. These groups were then compared to morphological and environmental variations, assessing group membership. We found strong variation in the movement behaviour of golden perch and identified five distinct movement groups. The proportion of individuals in each movement group varied with hydrological alteration and demonstrated behavioural plasticity within the population, possibly in response to the increased density within weir pool habitats. Fish that exhibited strong home-site residency and low mobility (under 5 km linear range) were most prevalent, and only a small number of fish ( n = 18) moved more than 50 km per year. Higher mobility was associated with larger body size (length and weight) and increased age. Future management actions for freshwater fish may benefit from recognising the diverse movement syndromes present within a population. Integrating these behavioural groups, and their differing requirements, into environmental flow management could better preserve key ecological functions and strengthen population resilience.
Ecological barriers are major factors shaping the migratory strategies of birds. The Mongolian Plateau, with sparse and fragmented wetlands, provides limited stopover for waterbirds. Recent studies revealed that several bird species migrate longitudinally between their breeding sites in central Asia and the coasts of East Asia, thereby crossing the Mongolian Plateau. However, how these birds adapt their migratory strategies to cope with the environmental constraints imposed by the Mongolian Plateau remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we focused on the Mongolian gull (Larus mongolicus), a representative longitudinal migrant that migrates along the East Asian coast and crosses the Mongolian Plateau. Using satellite tracking data from 29 coastal and 30 inland migration events in spring, and 34 coastal and 33 inland migration events in autumn between 2018 and 2025, we analyzed the difference in their migration duration, stopover duration, travel duration, migration distance, number of stopover sites, daily travel speed, straightness index and flight altitude relative to the ground between coastal and inland migration stage. We found that, in both spring and autumn, inland migration across the Mongolian Plateau covered significantly longer distance than coastal migration and was associated with higher daily travel speed. Migration duration, stopover duration, and number of stopover sites were all markedly lower during inland migration than during coastal migration, particularly in autumn. Flight altitude relative to the ground was significantly higher during inland migration compared to coastal migration across both seasons. Furthermore, flight altitude relative to the ground exhibited a pronounced diel pattern across inland and coastal migration stage, with birds flying at lower altitudes at night, increasing altitude during the day, and decreasing altitude toward dusk. Mongolian gulls adopt a strategy of rapidly crossing the Mongolian Plateau and adjacent arid and semiarid areas by minimizing stopover use, increasing daily travel speed, and flying at higher altitudes. These findings highlight the Mongolian Plateau as an important ecological barrier shaping migration behavior in this species and, together with growing evidence from other tracked and banded species migrating across this region, suggest its broader ecological and conservation significance.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal prion disease that impacts cervid populations and wildlife management across North America. Infected cervids often remain asymptomatic for months and movement-based anomaly detection from Global Positioning System collaring data offers a potential tool for understanding early and late stage CWD-based behavioral changes. Here we evaluate whether deep learning behavioral anomaly detection models such as autoencoders (AE) and conditional autoencoders (cAE) can effectively identify anomalous movement changes in free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) that may have been associated with CWD infection. Unsupervised AEs achieved ≥ 84
Abstract Background Rhythms in human activity create patterns of opportunities and disturbances for wildlife, influencing their behaviour and spatial ecology. The weekend effect hypothesis posits that weekday-weekend routines in human activity can impact wildlife in creating cyclic conditions. At our study site – an outdoor wildlife park – free-flying ravens opportunistically exploit food intended for captive animals on a routine basis. While disturbances from visitor activity levels are typically low on weekdays and high on weekends, they can also vary day-to-day. Our access to data detailing visitor numbers makes our context well-suited to test whether ravens anticipate and respond to predictable weekday-weekend patterns following (1) a ‘5 + 2’ structure, or if they respond (2) flexibly to fluctuations in direct human activity levels. By testing the weekend effect hypothesis from the perspective of a ‘5 + 2’ pattern versus flexibly responding to fluctuations in human activity, we better understand wildlife response strategies to human activity. Methods Using long-term GPS tracking data, we investigated the weekend effect hypothesis by examining raven foraging probability and space use across two temporal scales: (1) daily patterns over five years, encompassing periods of Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions, and (2) bihourly patterns over six weeks. We hypothesized that increased human activity levels would result in lower foraging probabilities and higher space use in ravens, varying between weekdays and weekends. Results Our findings provided limited support for the weekend effect hypothesis, considering a ‘5 + 2’ pattern in human activity. However, ravens consistently avoided elevated human activity by decreasing in their probability of foraging at the site and increasing space use on a daily level. Conclusions Our study reveals that ravens are behaviourally flexible in their movement responses to disturbance when exploiting anthropogenically created foraging opportunities. Changes influencing anthropogenic resources and disturbances at resources should consider the potential knock-on effects to wildlife.
Literature syntheses link knowledge across study systems and regions. However, specific details on the biological systems of the included publications may not always be explicitly outlined because of communication gaps (a.k.a. The Curse of Knowledge) and/or knowledge gaps. These gaps can lead to inappropriate comparisons across studies if researchers unfamiliar with the systems make inaccurate assumptions about aspects of study design or natural history. In the context of movement ecology, a growing number of publications explore how host infection and host migration intersect, work that is critical for predicting how global change will impact both animal movement and parasite transmission. Given the complexity of host and parasite life histories, these studies may be particularly vulnerable to knowledge and communication gaps. To minimize communication gaps and highlight knowledge gaps, we developed a checklist with 15 specific elements separated into three categories about migration, parasites, and sampling that should be addressed within a publication to provide a more complete picture of the study system for a non-specialist. We validate our checklist in three ways. First, we use two worked examples to show the information each element reveals. Second, we apply our checklist to a database of 36 publications on migrating infected hosts to quantify which details are typically missing from the published literature. Third, we create a try-it-yourself example based on a fictional study system to illustrate the challenges associated with extracting information on an unknown system. All but one of the publications assessed were missing information on at least one checklist element and 11 were missing more than half. Our checklist is therefore a tool that researchers can use to broaden the impact of their studies and facilitate cross-species comparisons and syntheses. We hope this work stimulates interest in the value of reporting guidelines and encourages researchers to apply this approach to other aspects of animal ecology that might similarly suffer from the Curse of Knowledge.
BackgroundThe antennal flagellum movement relative to the pedicel, helps insects detect different cues and interpret their surroundings. Antennae play a crucial role in the tandem run recruitment process, where one ant follows another ant to reach the destination by maintaining a continuous physical contact, mostly using antennae, throughout their journey. In this study, we investigate how the restriction in movement of the pedicel-flagellum joint impacts the exploratory walk and recruitment during relocation in Diacamma indicum, a tandem running tropical ponerine ant.MethodsWe studied the exploratory walk of ants by examining a total number of 72 individuals from four categories, i.e. no antennae restriction (NR), both antennae restriction (BR), right (RR) or left (LR) antennae restriction. The relocation process was studied by comparing 10 unrestricted and 8 antennae restricted colonies contrasting the dynamics. The movement dynamics of both the individual ants and tandem pairs were examined by analysing their heading direction, speed, sinuosity, straightness, and step lengths.ResultRestricted ants showed no significant change in speed, path shape and step length in their exploratory walk compared to the unrestricted ants. Restricted colonies performed the relocation at the cost of higher latency and transportation time due to the involvement of comparatively lower numbers of tandem leaders as compared to unrestricted colonies. Irrespective of restriction status, all the tandem pairs were significantly oriented toward the new nest. From the leader's point of view, BR leaders showed lower speed, more winding paths and higher proportion of small steps in comparison to unrestricted tandem pairs, while RR leaders hardly became tandem leaders. From the follower's point of view, RR and BR followers showed significantly lower speed.ConclusionThis study showed that the restriction in the pedicel-flagellum joint has no impact on the exploration walk in ants but negatively impacts the relocation process by affecting the tandem run recruitment. In the next step, it is essential to understand the functionality of the pedicel-flagellum joint and how ants compensate for loss of information from a sensory modality.
