The movement ecology paradigm states that the internal state, motion, and navigation capacities of the individual and the external factors are the basic components of an organismal movement. However, it has been difficult to understand the interaction between those components shaping movement.
To fulfill that gap, we need to address field survey and analysis limitations to deal with multitude of species, and the different external contexts that affect their behavior. In this research project, we aim to investigate how movement behavior of common birds can be predicted by species traits. At the same time we want to understand how landscape structure can modulate this effect.
We will fit Joint Species Movement Models (SJMM) to data of about 70 bird species observed in the field, and understand how species traits influence movement. Data were collected in five 600 x 600 m plots in a gradient of forest cover (20 to 70%) in the southeastern part of Atlantic Forest. Bird traits include body mass and diet preference.
The code is in the JSMM_bird_traits.html file. Use the link to view the rendered version here: https://github.com/LEEClab/JSMM_bird_traits.