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A ‘How-to’ Guide for Interpreting Parameters in Resource- and Step-Selection Analyses

View ORCID ProfileJohn Fieberg, View ORCID ProfileJohannes Signer, Brian Smith, View ORCID ProfileTal Avgar
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.12.379834
John Fieberg
1Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55112
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Johannes Signer
2Wildlife Science, Faculty of Forestry and Forest Ecology, University of Goettingen, Göttingen Germany
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Brian Smith
3Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
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Tal Avgar
3Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
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Abstract

  1. Resource-selection and step-selection analyses allow researchers to link animals to their environment and are commonly used to address questions related to wildlife management and conservation efforts. Step-selection analyses that incorporate movement characteristics, referred to as integrated step-selection analyses, are particularly appealing because they allow modeling of both movement and habitat-selection processes.

  2. Despite their popularity, many users struggle with interpreting parameters in resource-selection and step-selection functions. Integrated step-selection analyses also require several additional steps to translate model parameters into a full-fledged movement model, and the mathematics supporting this approach can be challenging for biologists to understand.

  3. Using simple examples, we demonstrate how weighted distribution theory and the inhomogeneous Poisson point-process model can facilitate parameter interpretation in resource-selection and step-selection analyses. Further, we provide a “how to” guide illustrating the steps required to implement integrated step-selection analyses using the amt package.

  4. By providing clear examples with open-source code, we hope to make resource-selection and integrated step-selection analyses more understandable and accessible to end users.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Light edits, minor change to "more flexible" notation for w()phi(), reformatted.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
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Posted November 26, 2020.
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A ‘How-to’ Guide for Interpreting Parameters in Resource- and Step-Selection Analyses
John Fieberg, Johannes Signer, Brian Smith, Tal Avgar
bioRxiv 2020.11.12.379834; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.12.379834
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A ‘How-to’ Guide for Interpreting Parameters in Resource- and Step-Selection Analyses
John Fieberg, Johannes Signer, Brian Smith, Tal Avgar
bioRxiv 2020.11.12.379834; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.12.379834

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