DOI: 10.5061/dryad.gtht76hxg
title: Data from: Differential effects of environmental predictability on ungulate movement behavior in disparate ecosystems

description: Increasing ecological perturbations resulting from global change processes
 are altering the environmental predictability (EP) of critical forage and
 water resources for wildlife. While research has furthered our
 understanding of how EP both underlies and directs animal movement,
 studies have mainly focused on relationships between EP and large-scale
 movement behaviors at the species level, neglecting the mediating
 influence that environmental context has on the behavior of wide-ranging
 species. We address these knowledge gaps by examining how mule deer
 (Odocoileus hemionus) – a cosmopolitan species of the American Southwest –
 home range EP relates to average daily movement, focusing on two
 populations inhabiting disparate ecoregions in Utah, USA. We employed two
 separate metrics of EP, representing spatial and temporal constancy of
 vegetation productivity, and explored how home range (HR) area, mean
 forage availability, and season modulate the relationships between EP and
 daily relocation distance. We found spatial predictability of an
 individual’s HR significantly impacted daily movement during the summer
 and had significant interactions with HR area and forage availability.
 Interestingly, individuals inhabiting spatially predictable HRs moved more
 in seasonally resource-limited environments, and less in non-limiting
 environments. Temporal predictability was a significant predictor of daily
 movement in non-limiting seasonal environments, resulting in shorter daily
 movements of deer with temporally predictable HR areas. Results also
 indicated that as summer HR area increased, the negative impact of
 predictability on movement grew larger. Finally, we found a significant
 interaction between spatial and temporal predictability, resulting in
 shorter daily movement of individuals inhabiting resource-limited HRs that
 were spatially and temporally predictable. Interactions between HR area,
 forage availability, and predictability demonstrate how the EP may become
 a larger driver of movement decisions as habitat quality is reduced.
 Understanding how EP drives daily movement aids our ability to predict how
 global change will impact species and anticipate human-wildlife conflict.
description: # Data from: Differential effects of environmental predictability on
 ungulate movement behavior in disparate ecosystems Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.gtht76hxg](10.5061/dryad.gtht76hxg) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset and code are published as a
 complement to: M. Standen, M. Ditmer, D. Stoner, K. Hersey, N. Carter
 (2025)."Differential effects of environmental predictability on
 ungulate movement behavior in disparate ecosystems"
 https:doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01484 The findings and conclusions in this
 publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to
 represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
 Research funding was generously provided by The NASA Biodiversity and
 Ecological Conservation Program (grant nos. NNX17AG36G and 80NSSC21K1940).
 Funding for mule deer capture and collars was provided by the Utah
 Division of Wildlife Resources and its partners, including Mule Deer
 Foundation, Safari Club International, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife,
 and Utah Archery Association. For animal handling and collaring efforts,
 we extend special thanks to R. Larsen and B. McMillan from BYU, UDWR
 biologists D.I. Ewell, J. R. Nicholes, D. W. Rich, C. W. Sampson, D.
 Smedley, R. Thacker, and A. Vande Voort, and wildlife vets A. Roug and V.
 Stout. ### Files and variables #### File: LMMCode.R **Description:** This
 R script contains code necessary to re-run linear mixed models presented
 in this research. #### File: Homerange_finaldat.RDS **Description:** This
 RDS file contains tabular data necessary to re-run linear mixed models
 supporting this research. This RDS file can be used to run models
 documented in the associated file LMMCode.R. Please note that this file
 **does not** contain raw (i.e., step locations) or derived (i.e., home
 range boundaries) spatial data.  #### File: ManuscriptPlotsCode.R
 **Description:** This R script contains code necessary to re-create plots
 and figures presenting results from linear mixed models. #### File:
 Metadata.txt **Description:** This text file contains a description of
 each variable contained in the associated file Homerange_finaldat.RDS. ##
 Code/software All data processing for this project was conducted in
 RStudio. Packages required to run linear mixed models (detailed in
 LMMCode.R) and generate visualizations of results (detailed in
 ManuscriptPlotsCode.R) are listed at the top of the provided R scripts.
 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data (MOD13Q1.061 product, accessed
 May 2022) and Normalized Difference Snow Index data (MOD09GA product,
 accessed June 2025) used to derive home range-level metrics of
 environmental predictability, forage availability, and snow cover were
 acquired from Google Earth Engine. ## Access information Other publicly
 accessible locations of the data: * Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
 (NDVI, MOD13Q1.061 product):
 [https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_061_MOD13Q1](https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_061_MOD13Q1) * Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI, MOD09GA product): [https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_MOD09GA_006_NDSI](https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_MOD09GA_006_NDSI) Data was derived from the following sources: * Mule deer individual seasonal home ranges were derived from GPS locations from collared individuals. Mule deer location data were provided under a data sharing agreement with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Mule deer are a protected species under state laws (Utah Code § 23-14-1), and as such, raw location data are considered proprietary and cannot be released without written permission by the UDWR. Inquires and data requests can be addressed to UDWR ([https://wildlife.utah.gov/natural-heritage.html](https://wildlife.utah.gov/natural-heritage.html)).