Movement is fundamental to animal success and has had a long history of study -- from the biomechanics of muscle to migration across the planet. The way that animals move through their surroundings shows us the direct relationship that animals have with their environment and with each other and is crucial to much of biology. We also are able to measure their impact on the environment, like the ability of straw-colored fruit bat colonies to disperse hundreds of thousands of seed each night.
I take a whole organism approach to animal movement to understand how individuals relate to each other and their environment. By studying animal movement we learn about one of the most important parts of their life. We can learn how they weigh environmental cues to make decisions about when to migrate and well as where they migrate, and how they use landscape features to get there. We can measure how much energy they spend and how they can conserve it, as well as the behavioral strategies they use to catch their prey. Movement data also gives us insight into the role of social relationships in movement and decision making.
I take a whole organism approach to animal movement to understand how individuals relate to each other and their environment. By studying animal movement we learn about one of the most important parts of their life. We can learn how they weigh environmental cues to make decisions about when to migrate and well as where they migrate, and how they use landscape features to get there. We can measure how much energy they spend and how they can conserve it, as well as the behavioral strategies they use to catch their prey. Movement data also gives us insight into the role of social relationships in movement and decision making.
Photo of Straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) at Kasanka National Park, Zambia courtesy of Christian Ziegler
