Data from: From randomness to traplining: a framework for the study of routine movement behavior

Memory allows many animals to benefit from the spatial predictability of their environment by revisiting known profitable places. Travel route optimization or resource acquisition constraints usually lead to repeated sequences of visits, which may have major evolutionary and ecological implications. However, the study of this behavior has been impaired by a lack of concepts and methodologies. We here formally define routine movement behavior, provide an index that quantifies the degree of repetitiveness in movement sequences in terms of minimal conditional entropy, and design a flexible procedure that detects the specific subsequences that are repeated. We demonstrate our framework using computer simulations and real-world movement data of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus) introduced into a novel environment. The simulation example showed that our methods can suitably reveal the increase in the level of routine movement behavior during home range (HR) establishment. Black-tailed deer did not show such an increase, suggesting that HR establishment occurred very fast. In both examples, our procedure determining the subsequences that are repeated provides a precise visualization of routine movements. Our approach solves limitations in the study of routine movement behavior and thus opens promising perspectives for the study of the linkages between cognition, foraging strategies, and environments. Although we developed it to study routine movement behavior, it can be applied to any type of behavioral sequence and should thus be of interest to a broad range of behavioral ecologists.记忆使得诸多动物能够通过重返已知高收益资源点位，借助所处环境的空间可预测性获取收益。旅行路线优化或资源获取约束通常会催生重复的访问序列，这类序列可能具备重要的进化与生态学意义。然而，此类行为的研究因缺乏相应的理论概念与研究方法而受到制约。本研究正式定义了常规移动行为，提出了以最小条件熵（minimal conditional entropy）为量化依据的移动序列重复程度指标，并设计了一套可灵活检测重复特定子序列的分析流程。本研究通过计算机模拟实验，以及被引入全新环境的黑尾鹿（Odocoileus hemionus）的真实移动轨迹数据，对所提出的分析框架进行了验证。模拟实验结果表明，本研究方法能够准确揭示动物在建立家域（home range, HR）过程中常规移动行为水平的提升趋势；而黑尾鹿未呈现此类提升趋势，这表明其家域建立过程极为迅速。在上述两类案例中，本研究用于检测重复子序列的分析流程均可精准可视化呈现常规移动轨迹。本研究方法解决了常规移动行为研究中的诸多局限，为探索认知能力、觅食策略与环境之间的关联开辟了极具前景的研究方向。尽管本方法最初为研究常规移动行为而开发，但它可推广应用于任意类型的行为序列分析，因此将受到众多行为生态学家的关注。