Longest terrestrial migrations and movements around the world

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Zoology
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Long-distance terrestrial migrations in large mammals are globally threatened.
• Understanding movement patterns is crucial for effective conservation of these species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine and compare both round-trip migration distances and total annual movement for various large mammal species.
• To identify species with the longest migrations and greatest annual movements.

Main Methods:

• Measured round-trip migration distances (straight-line between endpoints).
• Calculated total annual movement (sum of distances between successive relocations).
• Analyzed movement data for a suite of large mammals with potential for long-distance travel.

Main Results:

• Caribou exhibit the longest terrestrial migrations globally.
• Gray wolves demonstrate the highest total annual movement.
• Movement patterns align with trophic-level hypotheses (predators move more than prey).
• Herbivore movement correlates inversely with habitat productivity.
• Larger mammals within the same guild move less than smaller ones (gastro-centric hypothesis).

Conclusions:

• Findings highlight caribou and gray wolves as key species for migration and movement studies.
• Results support ecological hypotheses regarding movement drivers in large mammals.
• Data provides critical insights for conservation planning, including boundary delineation and corridor identification for large mammal connectivity.