Walking down an uncertain path: the movement tactics continuum in large herbivores
Francesca Cagnacci
Researcher at the Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, and Hrdy Fellow at Harvard University
Movement is the glue that ties ecological processes together. Through movement and movement patterns, animals use resources, find shelter, escape predators, compete, interact and reproduce. Individual movement patterns determine population distribution, which in turn is affected by climate and resources. The study of animal movement represents an opportunity to observe animal population responses and resilience to current environmental changes. The more we follow animals on their movement paths, the more we identify variations along a continuum of behaviors, from residence to ‘perfect’ obligatory migration. This talk will look at large scale, multi‐population movement datasets of large herbivores in temperate climates. In a fascinating journey along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, we assess the components and ecological determinants of such plasticity in movement behavior.
12:00‐1:00 FREE EVENT in Burke Auditorium, Kroon Hall
Lunch will be provided – first come, first served