PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - John Fieberg
AU  - Johannes Signer
AU  - Brian Smith
AU  - Tal Avgar
TI  - A ‘How-to’ Guide for Interpreting Parameters in Resource- and Step-Selection Analyses
AID  - 10.1101/2020.11.12.379834
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.11.12.379834
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/25/2020.11.12.379834.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/25/2020.11.12.379834.full
AB  - 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.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.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.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 StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.