Mapping resource selection functions in wildlife studies: Concerns and recommendations

Reconciling resource utilization and resource selection functions.

1. Analyses based on utilization distributions (UDs) have been ubiquitous in animal space use studies, largely because they are computationally straightforward and relatively easy to employ. Conventional applications of resource utilization functions (RUFs) suggest that estimates of UDs can be used as response variables in a regression involving spatial covariates of interest. 2. It has been cl...

Evaluating resource selection functions

A resource selection function (RSF) is any model that yields values proportional to the probability of use of a resource unit. RSF models often are fitted using generalized linear models (GLMs) although a variety of statistical models might be used. Information criteria such as the Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) or Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC) are tools that can be useful for selectin...

Considering ecological dynamics in resource selection functions.

1. Describing distribution and abundance is requisite to exploring interactions between organisms and their environment. Recently, the resource selection function (RSF) has emerged to replace many of the statistical procedures used to quantify resource selection by animals. 2. A RSF is defined by characteristics measured on resource units such that its value for a unit is proportional to the pr...

frail elderly adults: concerns and recommendations

Combining satellite data and resource selection functions for large scale habitat mapping of wildlife species - preliminary results for capercaillie and black grouse

The main aim of this study is to investigate the suitability of 1) combining map data derived from the Landsat satellite and other sources with statistical methods for analyzing habitat selection and making probability maps for large areas, and 2) testing a sampling design where volunteers arbitrarily select a walking route within specific areas for conducting transects surveys of wildlife. We ...