Data and code for "From Movement to Meaning: Spatial Statistics Uncover Hidden Patterns in Avian Tracking Data"

This archive contains GPS tracking data and analysis code (R scripts and an ArcGIS Pro toolbox) accompanying "From Movement to Meaning: Spatial Statistics Uncover Hidden Patterns in Avian Tracking Data" (Xiao et al., Movement Ecology, in revision). The study introduces a hierarchical spatiotemporal point-pattern framework that reads animal tracking data in the Eulerian (place-based) frame, treating geographic position as the analytical primitive and time as a mark. The pipeline runs from raw fixes to movement states (Behaviorally-Anchored Local Moran, BALM), to temporary habitats (DBSCAN at a data-derived scale), to migration phases (a Migration Phase Index with density-valley classification), and finally reads time marks back onto places to resolve diel activity rhythms, detect nests, and quantify inter-annual site fidelity. The framework is provided as two independent, algorithmically-equivalent implementations: the open-source R package movepp (source included; also at https://github.com/EverTSZ/movepp) and an ArcGIS Pro toolbox (Animal Movement Point-Pattern Analysis v3.0). It is demonstrated on five migratory bird species: Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), Greater Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens), Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), and Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus). For each species the archive includes a fully reproducible R script and the curated phase annotations needed to reproduce the published results, plus a cross-species sampling-resolution robustness analysis and, for the Pied Avocet, a validation of automated nest detection against the nestR method and field-verified nests. Data sources & attribution. Black-tailed Godwit, Pied Avocet, and Eurasian Oystercatcher data were collected by the authors' team. Lesser Kestrel data are a subset of the MigraLion study (Movebank ID 1552820885; PI Frédéric Jiguet) and Greater Snow Goose data are from the "Greater snow goose migration" study (Movebank ID 1442516400; PI Pierre Legagneux, Université Laval); both are licensed CC BY-NC and are not redistributed here — download them from Movebank to run those pipelines. See README.txt for full citations. Licensing. Code: MIT. Author-collected data: reusable with attribution. Lesser Kestrel / Greater Snow Goose data and derivatives: CC BY-NC.