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Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates

Nupur Kale, Kimberley Stokes, Graeme C. Hays Orcid Logo, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo

Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Volume: 16, Issue: 9, Pages: 2131 - 2144

Swansea University Authors: Nupur Kale, Kimberley Stokes, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/2041-210x.70112

Abstract

Space use is commonly estimated in animal ecology and has become a cornerstone of evidence-based conservation planning, with animal tracking increasingly used to underpin the designation of protected areas with high conservation value. However, tracking technologies and analytical methods may introd...

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Published in: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
ISSN: 2041-210X 2041-210X
Published: Wiley 2025
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However, tracking technologies and analytical methods may introduce biases in home range size estimates. We assessed these potential biases using simulated tracking data and published home range size estimates from empirical animal tracking studies. We first simulated animal movement data and added published location error estimates for different technologies used for tracking sea turtles. Location data were analysed using common space use estimation methods (minimum convex polygon, fixed and autocorrelated kernel density estimation, biased random bridge and dynamic Brownian bridge movement model). Second, we reviewed home range size estimates obtained using different technologies to track hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles to assess the relative impacts on home range estimates due to (i) tracking accuracy and (ii) analytical methods. 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spelling 2025-09-04T09:54:57.0863207 v2 69964 2025-07-15 Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates c9cbb132a044e02a2f43333dfa5815f1 Nupur Kale Nupur Kale true false 9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae Kimberley Stokes Kimberley Stokes true false fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319 0000-0003-4693-7221 Nicole Esteban Nicole Esteban true false 2025-07-15 Space use is commonly estimated in animal ecology and has become a cornerstone of evidence-based conservation planning, with animal tracking increasingly used to underpin the designation of protected areas with high conservation value. However, tracking technologies and analytical methods may introduce biases in home range size estimates. We assessed these potential biases using simulated tracking data and published home range size estimates from empirical animal tracking studies. We first simulated animal movement data and added published location error estimates for different technologies used for tracking sea turtles. Location data were analysed using common space use estimation methods (minimum convex polygon, fixed and autocorrelated kernel density estimation, biased random bridge and dynamic Brownian bridge movement model). Second, we reviewed home range size estimates obtained using different technologies to track hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles to assess the relative impacts on home range estimates due to (i) tracking accuracy and (ii) analytical methods. For both simulated data and empirical values of space use from the literature (n = 90 studies), relatively large home range estimates tended to be generated from lower resolution Argos tracking compared to higher-resolution Fastloc-GPS tracking. These findings reflect inaccuracies in location data providing spuriously large movements. For example, Argos and Fastloc-GPS home range size estimates for adult green turtles averaged 393 and 53 km2 respectively (n = 64 and 39 individuals). For simulated data, biases introduced by tracking accuracy had a far greater impact on home range size estimation than the analytical method used, apart from when using autocorrelated kernel density estimation (AKDE) which compensated for positional error very well. Our results suggest that in many cases, hawksbill and green turtles have relatively small home ranges (<10 km2 and in some cases, <1 km2), with this picture of their limited space use only emerging through high-accuracy tracking. These general conclusions likely apply broadly across taxa and will impact attempts to assess patterns of home range sizes recorded for individuals across studies in different regions. Journal Article Methods in Ecology and Evolution 16 9 2131 2144 Wiley 2041-210X 2041-210X foraging; GPS; kernel analysis; marine turtle; satellite tracking; spatial ecology; utilisation distribution 3 9 2025 2025-09-03 10.1111/2041-210x.70112 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This work was supported by the Bertarelli Foundation as part of the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science (grant number 820633). 2025-09-04T09:54:57.0863207 2025-07-15T10:18:09.1898024 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Nupur Kale 1 Kimberley Stokes 2 Graeme C. Hays 0000-0002-3314-8189 3 Nicole Esteban 0000-0003-4693-7221 4 69964__34879__584e494fad104f5086da9da78389f98a.pdf 69964.VoR.pdf 2025-07-31T11:26:34.9043203 Output 1317793 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
spellingShingle Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
Nupur Kale
Kimberley Stokes
Nicole Esteban
title_short Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
title_full Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
title_fullStr Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
title_full_unstemmed Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
title_sort Separating biological signal from methodological noise in home range estimates
author_id_str_mv c9cbb132a044e02a2f43333dfa5815f1
9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae
fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319
author_id_fullname_str_mv c9cbb132a044e02a2f43333dfa5815f1_***_Nupur Kale
9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae_***_Kimberley Stokes
fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319_***_Nicole Esteban
author Nupur Kale
Kimberley Stokes
Nicole Esteban
author2 Nupur Kale
Kimberley Stokes
Graeme C. Hays
Nicole Esteban
format Journal article
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container_volume 16
container_issue 9
container_start_page 2131
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2041-210X
2041-210X
doi_str_mv 10.1111/2041-210x.70112
publisher Wiley
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hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
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department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
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description Space use is commonly estimated in animal ecology and has become a cornerstone of evidence-based conservation planning, with animal tracking increasingly used to underpin the designation of protected areas with high conservation value. However, tracking technologies and analytical methods may introduce biases in home range size estimates. We assessed these potential biases using simulated tracking data and published home range size estimates from empirical animal tracking studies. We first simulated animal movement data and added published location error estimates for different technologies used for tracking sea turtles. Location data were analysed using common space use estimation methods (minimum convex polygon, fixed and autocorrelated kernel density estimation, biased random bridge and dynamic Brownian bridge movement model). Second, we reviewed home range size estimates obtained using different technologies to track hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles to assess the relative impacts on home range estimates due to (i) tracking accuracy and (ii) analytical methods. For both simulated data and empirical values of space use from the literature (n = 90 studies), relatively large home range estimates tended to be generated from lower resolution Argos tracking compared to higher-resolution Fastloc-GPS tracking. These findings reflect inaccuracies in location data providing spuriously large movements. For example, Argos and Fastloc-GPS home range size estimates for adult green turtles averaged 393 and 53 km2 respectively (n = 64 and 39 individuals). For simulated data, biases introduced by tracking accuracy had a far greater impact on home range size estimation than the analytical method used, apart from when using autocorrelated kernel density estimation (AKDE) which compensated for positional error very well. Our results suggest that in many cases, hawksbill and green turtles have relatively small home ranges (<10 km2 and in some cases, <1 km2), with this picture of their limited space use only emerging through high-accuracy tracking. These general conclusions likely apply broadly across taxa and will impact attempts to assess patterns of home range sizes recorded for individuals across studies in different regions.
published_date 2025-09-03T05:23:44Z
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