Stuck in a Well: Badgers Moving on an Energy Surface

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to establish a modelling framework to understand the movement of European badgers (Meles meles) within their environment. It is widely understood that badgers play a crucial role in the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), but the exact role is still not clear. An approach to modelling animal movement is using energy potentials, primarily seen in physics to describe particle motion, and geometric Brownian motion. Such an approach has been successful in describing the movements of free ranging Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) and their avoidance of vehicles and humans, but has yet to be applied to the study of badgers. Using data driven methods, we have parametrized a model using GPS data and interpreted the level of noise within the system.

Key questions this modelling framework will allow us to answer are: How does badger movement affect the spread of bTB? How does the climate affect badger movement? With the role badgers play in the spread of bTB, the answer to these questions could be crucial in the role of strategy planning.

In this presentation, we present preliminary results on the fitted/parameterized model and explore some of the key modelling questions.