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SPATIAL ECOLOGY

DRIVERS OF HOME RANGE SIZE ACROSS MAMMALS

The space used (home range) by a mammal is driven not only by body size, the diet they eat, but also by the environment in which they live.

 

We re-examined existing theories and included newly available data, including data on marine mammals, and showed that living in the marine environment has changed established ecological patterns. For instance, the differences in food web structure between the marine and terrestrial environment has driven the evolution of opposite feeding strategies.

 

Mammals that returned to the sea (marine mammals) need more space (a home range 1.3 times larger) than terrestrial mammals of the same size.

Evolutionary predictors of mammalian home range size: Body mass, diet and the environment

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SPATIAL ECOLOGY

Drawings by Alicia Guerrero & Tracey Rogers

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