Résumé
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.