Journal article 8 views
High resolution data reveal fundamental steps and turns in animal movements
Richard M. Gunner 
,
Rory Wilson ,
Miguel Lurgi Rivera ,
Luca Borger ,
James Redcliffe,
Emily Shepard ,
Mark Holton ,
Margaret C. Crofoot,
Abdulaziz Alagaili,
Samantha Andrzejaczek ,
Daniel Ariano‐Sánchez ,
Thomas Barbedette‐Gerard,
Nigel C. Bennett,
Alice Bernard,
Rowan Brown ,
Nik Cole,
Scott Creel ,
Ariovaldo P. Cruz‐Neto,
Agustina di Virgilio,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Christophe Eizaguirre,
Kyle H. Elliott,
Monika Faltusova,
Mathieu Garel,
Natasha Gillies,
Adrian C. Gleiss,
Aoife Göppert ,
David Grémillet,
Sophie de Grissac,
Tim Guilford,
Maxime Hoareau,
Mark Jessopp,
Agustina Gómez‐Laich,
Milos Jezek,
Sergio A. Lambertucci ,
Pascal Marchand ,
Nikki Marks,
Andréia Martins,
Mark Meekan ,
Yuichi Mizutani,
Rasmus M. Mortensen ,
Bradley M. Norman,
Josue Ortega,
Oliver Padget,
Michael Painter,
Aurore Ponchon ,
Pascal Provost,
Aurélien Prudor,
Flavio Quintana,
Stefanie Reinhardt,
Samantha D. Reynolds ,
Frank Rosell,
Carlos R. Ruiz‐Miranda ,
Peter G. Ryan,
David M. Scantlebury,
Stefan Schoombie,
Rebecca Scott,
Vaclav Silovsky,
Jeroen Steenbeek,
Vikash Tatayah,
Carole Toïgo,
Lucia Torrez,
Fred Tremblay,
Joshua P. Twining ,
Ken Yoda ,
Henri Weimerskirch ,
Shannon Whelan ,
Juan M. Morales ,
Jonathan R. Potts
,
Rory Wilson ,
Miguel Lurgi Rivera ,
Luca Borger ,
James Redcliffe,
Emily Shepard ,
Mark Holton ,
Margaret C. Crofoot,
Abdulaziz Alagaili,
Samantha Andrzejaczek ,
Daniel Ariano‐Sánchez ,
Thomas Barbedette‐Gerard,
Nigel C. Bennett,
Alice Bernard,
Rowan Brown ,
Nik Cole,
Scott Creel ,
Ariovaldo P. Cruz‐Neto,
Agustina di Virgilio,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Christophe Eizaguirre,
Kyle H. Elliott,
Monika Faltusova,
Mathieu Garel,
Natasha Gillies,
Adrian C. Gleiss,
Aoife Göppert ,
David Grémillet,
Sophie de Grissac,
Tim Guilford,
Maxime Hoareau,
Mark Jessopp,
Agustina Gómez‐Laich,
Milos Jezek,
Sergio A. Lambertucci ,
Pascal Marchand ,
Nikki Marks,
Andréia Martins,
Mark Meekan ,
Yuichi Mizutani,
Rasmus M. Mortensen ,
Bradley M. Norman,
Josue Ortega,
Oliver Padget,
Michael Painter,
Aurore Ponchon ,
Pascal Provost,
Aurélien Prudor,
Flavio Quintana,
Stefanie Reinhardt,
Samantha D. Reynolds ,
Frank Rosell,
Carlos R. Ruiz‐Miranda ,
Peter G. Ryan,
David M. Scantlebury,
Stefan Schoombie,
Rebecca Scott,
Vaclav Silovsky,
Jeroen Steenbeek,
Vikash Tatayah,
Carole Toïgo,
Lucia Torrez,
Fred Tremblay,
Joshua P. Twining ,
Ken Yoda ,
Henri Weimerskirch ,
Shannon Whelan ,
Juan M. Morales ,
Jonathan R. Potts
Ecological Monographs, Volume: 96, Issue: 2, Start page: e70069
Swansea University Authors:
Rory Wilson , Miguel Lurgi Rivera , Luca Borger , James Redcliffe, Emily Shepard , Mark Holton , Thomas Barbedette‐Gerard, Rowan Brown , Maxime Hoareau
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© 2026 The Author(s). Ecological Monographs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/ecm.70069
Abstract
Animal movement paths display substantial complexity and variability, promoting efforts to identify universal rules and models that best describe them. Using high-resolution (≥10 Hz) movement from 43 vertebrate species spanning diverse taxa, body sizes, and lifestyles, we show that paths are univers...
| Published in: | Ecological Monographs |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0012-9615 1557-7015 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2026
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71515 |
| Abstract: |
Animal movement paths display substantial complexity and variability, promoting efforts to identify universal rules and models that best describe them. Using high-resolution (≥10 Hz) movement from 43 vertebrate species spanning diverse taxa, body sizes, and lifestyles, we show that paths are universally composed of straight-line steps interspersed with sharp turns, echoing patterns documented in lower taxa such as bacteria. We report how vertebrate “fundamental steps”—straight travel segments between successive detected turns (with Fstepduration as the turn-to-turn interval and Fsteplength as the corresponding distance when displacement is available)—and “fundamental turn angles” (Fturnangles; net changes in travel heading between successive steps) vary with species' mass, locomotor mode, behavior, and environment. Here, “fundamental” denotes the finest scale step/turn events resolvable under our sampling rate and turn-detection criteria; these event-scale steps/turns are intrinsically different from the straight-line segments inferred from low-resolution position data. To explain these relationships, we posit that animals inherently move in a straight line until sensory information signals a better heading, triggering a turn. Across all species examined, animals spent the vast majority of their travel time moving in straight lines (species-level means >90%), with turns representing discrete decision points influenced by body size, locomotor mode, and ecological context. Larger animals turned less frequently, consistent with biomechanical constraints of mass and rotational inertia, while aerial species often exhibited higher turning rates driven by soaring flight demands. We further show that turns can be linked to diverse behavioral drivers, including prey pursuit, obstacle avoidance, predator evasion, and exploitation of environmental energy. By explicitly quantifying turns, we clarify how distributions of step durations and turn angles interact to shape movement patterns and why different statistical models (e.g., correlated random walks, Lévy flights) emerge when lower resolution data are analyzed. Finally, we demonstrate how fundamental steps and turns can be incorporated into an agent-based modeling framework using penguins as a case study, enabling reconstruction of realistic tracks and prediction of movement responses to environmental change. Straight-line travel punctuated by decision-driven turns thus emerges as a fundamental principle of vertebrate movement, linking fine-scale movement structure, ecological context, and emergent patterns of space use. |
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| Keywords: |
accelerometer, agent-based model, animal movement, bio-logging, dead-reckoning, heading, magnetometer, step length, turn angle, turning points |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The Beveridge Herpetological Trust;
The Jock Clough Marine Foundation;
Rolex Awards for Enterprise;
The European Research Council Advanced Grant Program FP7/2007–2013. Grant Number: ERC-2012-ADG_20120314;
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung;
National Science Foundation. Grant Numbers: DEB-2032131, IOS1145749;
RAC Parks and Resorts;
The MG Kailis Group;
Enterprise;
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Grant Number: BB/M011224/1;
European Union. Grant Numbers: 715874, PICT 2015;
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds;
NSERC;
Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Special;
European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme. Grant Number: 101060072 (ACTNOW);
European Research Council;
Challenge Fund and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council;
Durrell Conservation Trust; Supporting Project. Grant Number: RSPD2023R602;
The Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Japan Society of the Promotion of Science. Grant Numbers: 16H01769, 16H06541, 21H05294, 22H00569;
International Association of Avian Trainers & Educators (IAATE);
King Saud University;
South African National Antarctic Programme;
ANCYPT. Grant Number: PICT 2021-I-A-00484;
Royal Society/Wolfson Lab;
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST);
Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust;
National Geographic. Grant Number: GEFNE69-13;
The Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, The UWA Graduate Research School. Grant Numbers: 10.18258/7190, QK1910462;
Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. Grant Number: EVA4.0;
Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. Grant Number: 82/2021;
European Regional Development Fund;
National Agency for Science Promotion. Grant Numbers: PICT 2017-1996, PICT 2018-01480;
First Trust Travel Scholarship at Queen's University Belfast;
European Research Executive Agency (REA). Grant Number: 101060072;
Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, Argentina;
Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour’s Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies. Grant Number: CP1217;
JST CREST. Grant Number: JPMJCR23P2;
Wilderness Wildlife Trust, Tusk Trust;
The Bennink Foundation, Painted Dog Conservation Inc;
World Wildlife Fund;
Gemfields Inc;
National Geographic Society;
IUCN Save Our Species (SOS);
OP RDE project Improvement in Quality of the Internal Grant Scheme. Grant Numbers: CZ,.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016944, CZ,.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803;
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
e70069 |