Incorporating movement in species distribution models

Abstract

Movement in the context of species distribution models (SDMs) generally refers to a species’ ability to access suitable habitat. Movement ability can be determined by some combination of dispersal constraints or migration rates, landscape factors such as patch configuration, disturbance, and barriers, and demographic factors related to age at maturity, mortality, and fecundity. Including movement ability can result in more precise projections that help to distinguish suitable habitat that is or can be potentially occupied, from suitable habitat that is inaccessible. While most SDM studies have ignored movement or conceptualized it in overly simplistic ways (e.g. no dispersal versus unlimited dispersal), it is increasingly important to incorporate realistic information on movement ability, particularly for studies that aim to project future distributions such as climate change forecasting and invasive species applications. This progress report addresses the increasingly complex ways in which movement has been incorporated in SDM and outlines directions for further study.