A quantitative synthesis of the movement concepts used within species distribution modelling

Movement is a ubiquitous ecological process that influences the distribution of all species. In spite of this ecological significance, the incorporation of movement in species distribution models (SDMs) has lagged in comparison with other methodological and conceptual advancements. Many studies still ignore movement processes in applications inherently linked to movement (e.g. tracking changes in climate), and moreover, finer scale movements (e.g. foraging) have been neglected even more severely. We reviewed almost 600 research articles published in the last decade to identify important trends in the way that movement has been explicitly incorporated in SDM. We note that the conceptual differences associated with the ‘object’ whose movement is of interest, as well as subtler differences among taxon groups (e.g. plants v animals) and levels of organization (e.g. individuals, populations, species) that have significant implications for how movement processes occur, have hindered more substantial integration of these concepts. Finally, we highlight novel and unique methodological issues such as the use of successive telemetry data as response data in these correlative models. The gaps and trends identified in this review should foster future research in this burgeoning research area.