COMPARATIVE MOVEMENT ECOLOGY: SEARCH PATTERNS IN ‘BASAL’ ANIMALS AND VERTEBRATES

Lévy flights are specialised random walks theorised to represent an optimal search solution in complex landscapes where resources are sparse and randomly distributed. This Leverhulme Trust-funded research uses an integrative approach of field-based tracking (electronic tagging) and complementary laboratory studies (real-time video tracking of animal trails) to determine how widespread Lévy flight-like behaviour might be across animal Phyla.

Candidate species for study have been identified from 5 different Phyla to date [Cnidaria, Mollusca, Crustacea, Echinodermata, Chordata (subphylum Vertebrata)]. Experiments examine how animal movement patterns vary with changing prey distributions, and are complemented by tracking animal movements in the natural environment. Activity patterns of ambush and pursuit predators are also being investigated as theory predicts that a simple random movement strategy (Brownian motion) should be optimal for an ambush predator compared with the optimal Lévy motion of pursuit predators. Movement data have been collected from 5 candidate ambush predator species (elasmobranch and teleost fish) for comparison with data for pursuit predators.

People involved: Dr Viki Wearmouth, Jenny Dyer, David Jacoby, Nick Humphries, Dr Emily Southall, Professor David Sims (MBA), Aurore Naegalen (University of Brest, France), Dr Richard Twitchett (University of Plymouth).

Funding: The Leverhulme Trust.