Home range

A home range is the area an animal uses for ordinary activities such as feeding, resting, and mating. It can overlap with other animals’ ranges and is not necessarily defended.

Animal movement ecology: The study of how animals move through landscapes and how movement affects ecological processes. Home ranges are recurring spatial patterns built from an animal’s movements.
Animal territory: An area an animal or group actively defends against intruders. A territory may lie within a home range, but ordinary use alone does not imply defense.
Habitat selection: The process by which animals use habitats in nonrandom ways. Comparing used areas with available habitat shows which environments shape a range.
Ecological niche: The role of a species in an ecosystem, including its resource use and environmental relationships. A niche describes ecological requirements; a home range describes where an animal acts on them.
Radio tracking: A method for locating animals by detecting signals from attached radio transmitters. Repeated locations from transmitters can outline an animal’s used area.
Core area (animal behavior): The part of an animal’s range where its use is most concentrated. The core area distinguishes heavily used places from the broader home range.
Wildlife corridor: A landscape feature that connects habitat areas and facilitates animal movement between them. Corridors can connect home ranges separated by roads or developed land.
Habitat: The natural environment in which an organism lives and obtains resources. Habitat describes environmental conditions, while a home range maps an individual’s use of space.
GPS telemetry: The remote collection of geographic positions using GPS devices carried by animals. Frequent GPS fixes can reveal both the extent and intensity of space use.
Dispersal (ecology): The movement of an organism away from its birthplace or previous area of residence. Dispersal changes residence and is distinct from routine movement within a home range.

Linked from 20 pages