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Testing alternative methods for estimation of bird migration phenology from GPS tracking data
Author(s) -
SorianoRedondo Andrea,
Acácio Marta,
Franco Aldina M. A.,
Herlander Martins Bruno,
Moreira Francisco,
Rogerson Katharine,
Catry Inês
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/ibi.12809
Subject(s) - global positioning system , displacement (psychology) , phenology , estimation , geography , geodesy , statistics , computer science , remote sensing , cartography , mathematics , ecology , telecommunications , biology , engineering , psychology , systems engineering , psychotherapist
The development and miniaturization of GPS tracking devices has enabled a better understanding of migration phenology, but it can be challenging to identify where and when migration starts and ends, and researchers rely on multiple methods to infer it. Here, we use GPS tracks of 18 trans‐Saharan migrant White Storks Ciconia ciconia to determine how the choice of method influences the estimation of migratory timing and discuss its implications. We evaluate and provide R code for the implementation of five alternative methods: spatial threshold, absolute displacement, spatio‐temporal displacement, net squared displacement and change point analysis. Spatial threshold, absolute displacement and spatio‐temporal displacement methods produce, in most cases, significantly different estimates of migration timing and duration as compared with net squared displacement and change point analysis.