State-space models for animal movement

06.03.2026 11:15 – 12:15

RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR STATISTICS AND INFORMATION SCIENCE SEMINARS

ABSTRACT

State–space models (SSMs) are commonly used to model ecological time series such as population dynamics, animal movement, and capture–recapture data. SSMs are popular because: (1) their flexibility allows ecologists to model a broad range of data types (e.g., continuous, count, binary) with linear or nonlinear processes that evolve in discrete or continuous time; (2) they allow researchers to differentiate between biological variation and imprecision in the sampling methodology; and (3) they often provide better estimates than models that account for only one source of stochasticity. Using a range of animal movement examples, I will introduce SSMs and demonstrate their advantages. I will discuss some of the issues that can arise when fitting SSMs to data, and will suggest simple ways to overcome these challenges.

Lieu

Bâtiment: Uni Mail

Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve 40
1205 Geneva

Room M 4220, 4th floor

entrée libre