Utilization distribution

A utilization distribution is a probability distribution giving the probability density that an animal is found at a given point in space. It is estimated from data sampling the location of an individual or individuals in space over a period of time using, for example, telemetry or GPS based methods.

Estimation of utilization distribution was traditionally based on histograms but newer nonparametric methods based on Fourier transformations,^[1] kernel density^[2] and local convex hull methods have been developed.

The typical application for this distribution is estimating the home range distribution of animals. According to Lichti & Swihart (2011),^[3] kernel density methods provided, in many cases, less biased home-range area estimates compared to convex hull methods.

See also

• Home range
• Local convex hull