Monitoring animal movement diversity as a component of biodiversity

Abstract

Animal movement is increasingly being quantified in novel ways, with high potential for integration into broad-scale efforts to monitor biological diversity. Here, we define movement diversity as a form of biodiversity, measuring variation in animal movement from the level of individual animals to communities. We present a framework to develop a common language for movement diversity metrics, which describes variation in movement patterns, as well as motion and navigation capacities, through both time and geographic space. Developing and using a common language for such metrics will lay the foundation for expanding the application of animal movement data in biodiversity monitoring to address not only the effects of global climate and land-use change on movement diversity but also how movement diversity influences ecosystem functioning.