About Us
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PI
Prof. Ran Nathan  |
The Movement Ecology lab was founded by Prof. Ran Nathan at 2002. The Lab studies foraging, dispersal, migration and other types of movements in plants and animals, mostly birds. These studies typically combine advanced biotelemetry of free-ranging animals, mechanistic models, molecular tools, and various observational and experimental approaches in the laboratory and in the field, both in Israel and around the world.
As a theoretical base the lab projects use a conceptual framework that was introduced by Nathan et al. in a special issue of PNAS (2008). This framework asserts that four basic components are needed to describe the mechanisms underlying movement of all kinds: the organism’s internal state, which defines its intrinsic motivation to move; the motion and navigation capacities representing, respectively, the organism’s basic ability to move and affect where and when to move; and the broad range of external factors affecting movement.
The Lab is expected to contribute significantly to a greater understanding of movement across all taxonomic groups based on the framework above by the study of issues regarding:
- the links between movement patterns and their underlying mechanisms (e.g., search efficiency and landscape heterogeneity);
- the fitness consequences of lifetime movement;
- the mechanisms of animal navigation;
- the drivers of inter-continental bird migration, and their implications for individuals and ecosystems, and
- Social behavior and decision-making
The Lab is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of students with diverse backgrounds and complementary expertise because we believe that diversity brings creativity, and creativity brings new insights.
Selected Publications
Ammon Corl, Motti Charter, Gabe Rozman, Sondra Turjeman, Sivan Toledo, Pauline L. Kamath, Wayne M. Getz, Ran Nathan and Rauri C. K. Bowie, (2024) Social, environmental, and developmental
factors affect the microbiota of barn owls (Tyto
alba) in a cross-fostering experiment | Animal Microbiome 77
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-024-00365-w
Nathan, R., C. T. Monk, R. Arlinghaus, T. Adam, J. Alós, M. Assaf, H. Baktoft, C. E. Beardsworth, M. G. Bertram, A. I. Bijleveld, T. Brodin, J. L. Brooks, A. Campos-Candela, S. J. Cooke, K. Ø. Gjelland, P. R. Gupte, , R. Harel, G. Hellström, F. Jeltsch, S. S. Killen, T. Klefoth, R. Langrock, R. J. Lennox, E. Lourie, J. R. Madden, Y. Orchan, , I. S. Pauwels, M. Říha, M. Roeleke, U. E. Schlägel, D. Shohami, J. Signer, S. Toledo, O. Vilk, S. Westrelin, M. A. Whiteside, and I. Jarić, (2022) Big-data approaches lead to an increased understanding of the ecology of animal movement | Science eabg1780
Rotics, S., S. Turjeman, M. Kaatz, D. Zurell, M. Wikelski, N. Sapir, W. Fiedler, U. Eggers, Y. S. Resheff, F. Jeltsch, and R. Nathan, (2021) Early-life behaviour predicts first-year survival in a long-distance avian migrant | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 20202670
Carlson, B. S., S. Rotics, R. Nathan, M. Wikelski, and W. Jetz, (2021) Individual environmental niches in mobile organisms | Nature Communications 4572
Pekarsky, S., A. Corl, S. Turjeman, P. L. Kamath, W. M. Getz, R. C. K. Bowie, Y. Markin, and R. Nathan, (2021) Drivers of change and stability in the gut microbiota of an omnivorous avian migrant exposed to artificial food supplementation | Molecular Ecology 4723-4739
Pekarsky, S., I. Schiffner, Y. Markin, and R. Nathan, (2021) Using movement ecology to evaluate the effectiveness of multiple human-wildlife conflict management practices | Biological Conservation 109306
Lourie, E., I. Schiffner, S. Toledo, and R. Nathan, (2021) Memory and conformity, but not competition, explain spatial partitioning between two neighboring fruit bat colonies | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 732514
Toledo, S., D. Shohami, I. Schiffner, E. Lourie, Y. Orchan, Y. Bartan, and R. Nathan, (2020) Cognitive map-based navigation in wild bats revealed by a new high-throughput wildlife tracking system | Science 188-193 : 369
* Can be download without subsrcription from the "pulication" page
Turjeman, S., A. Corl, A. Wolfenden, M. Tsalyuk, A. Lublin, O. Choi, P. L. Kamath, W. M. Getz, R. C. K. Bowie, and R. Nathan, (2020) Migration, pathogens, and the avian microbiome: a comparative study in sympatric migrants and residents | Molecular Ecology 4706-4720
Wang, X., L. Cao, A. D. Fox, R. Fuller, L. Griffin, C. Mitchell, Y. Zhao, O.-K. Moon, D. Cabot, Z. Xu, N. Batbayar, A. Kolzsch, H. van der Jeugd, J. Madson, L. Chen, and R. Nathan, (2019) Stochastic simulations reveal few green wave surfing populations among spring migrating herbivorous waterfowl | Nature communications 2187 : 1
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09971-8
Efrat, R., O. Hatzofe, and R. Nathan, (2019) Landscape-dependent time versus energy optimizations in pelicans migrating through a large ecological barrier | Functional Ecology 2161-2171
10.1111/1365-2435.13426
Tucker, M. A., K. Böhning-Gaese, W. F. Fagan, J. M. Fryxell, B. V. Moorter, S. C. Alberts, A. H. Ali, A. M. Allen, N. Attias, T. Avgar, H. Bartlam-Brooks, B. Buuveibaatar, J. L. Belant, A. Bertassoni, D. Beyer, L. Bidner, F. M. v. Beest, , S. Blake, N. Blaum, C. Bracis, D. Brown, P. N. d. Bruyn, F. Cagnacci, J. M. Calabrese, C. Camilo-Alves, S. Chamaillé-Jammes, A. Chiaradia, S. C. Davidson, T. Dennis, S. DeStefano, D. Diefenbach, I. D. Hamilton, J. Fennessy, C. Fichtel, W. Fiedler, , C. Fischer, I. Fischhoff, C. H. Fleming, A. T. Ford, S. A. Fritz, B. Gehr, J. R. Goheen, E. Gurarie, M. Hebblewhite, M. Heurich, A. J. M. Hewison, C. Hof, E. Hurme, L. A. Isbell, R. Janssen, F. Jeltsch, , P. Kaczensky, A. Kane, P. Kappeler, M. Kauffman, R. Kays, D. Kimuyu, F. Koch, B. Kranstauber, S. LaPoint, P. Leimgruber, J. D. C. Linnell, P. López-López, A. C. Markham, J. Mattisson, , E. P. Medici, U. Mellone, E. Merrill, G. d. M. Mourão, R. G. Morato, N. Morellet, T. Morrison, S. L. Díaz-Muñoz, A. Mysterud, D. Nandintsetseg, R. Nathan, , A. Niamir, J. Odden, R. B. O’Hara, L. G. R. Oliveira-Santos, K. A. Olson, B. D. Patterson, R. C. d. Paula, L. Pedrotti, B. Reineking, M. Rimmler, T. L. Rogers, C. M. Rolandsen, , C. S. Rosenberry, D. I. Rubenstein, K. Safi, S. Saïd, N. Sapir, H. Sawyer, N. M. Schmidt, N. Selva, A. Sergiel, E. Shiilegdamba, J. P. Silva, N. Singh, E. J. Solberg, O. Spiegel, , O. Strand, S. Sundaresan, W. Ullmann, U. Voigt, J. Wall, D. Wattles, M. Wikelski, C. C. Wilmers, J. W. Wilson, G. Wittemyer, F. Zięba, T. Zwijacz-Kozica, and T. Mueller, (2018) Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements | Science 466-469 : 359
Horvitz, N., R. Wang, F.-H. Wan, and R. Nathan, (2017) Pervasive human-mediated large-scale invasion: analysis of spread patterns and their underlying mechanisms in 17 of China’s worst invasive plants | Journal of Ecology 85-94 : 105
Rotics, S., S.M. Turjeman, M. Kaatz, Y. S. Resheff, D. Zurell, N. Sapir, U. Eggers, W. Fiedler, A. Flack, F. Jeltsch, M. Wikelski, and R. Nathan, (2017) Wintering in Europe instead of Africa enhances juvenile survival in a long-distance migrant | Animal Behaviour 79-88 : 126
Harel, R., N. Horvitz, and R. Nathan, (2016) Adult vultures outperform juveniles in challenging thermal soaring conditions | Scientific Reports 27865 : 6
10.1038/srep27865
. Rotics, S., M. Kaatz, Y. S. Resheff, S. M. Turjeman-Feldman, D. Zurell, N. Sapir, U. Eggers, A. Flack, W. Fiedler, F. Jeltsch, M. Wikelski, and R. Nathan, (2016) The challenges of the first migration: movement and behavior of juvenile versus adult white storks with insights regarding juvenile mortality. | Journal of Animal Ecology 938–947 : 85
10.1111/1365-2656.12525
Horvitz, N., N. Sapir, F. Liechti, R. Avissar, I. Mahrer, and R. Nathan, (2014) The gliding speed of migrating birds: slow and safe or fast and risky? | Ecology Letters 670–679 : 17
10.1111/ele.12268
Nathan, R., E. K. Klein, J. J. Robledo-Arnuncio, and E. Revilla, (2012) Dispersal kernels: review | Dispersal and Spatial Evolutionary Ecology. 187-210
Nathan, R., O. Spiegel, S. Fortmann-Roe, R. Harel, M. Wikelski, and W. M. Getz, (2012) Using tri-axial acceleration data to identify behavioral modes of free-ranging animals: general concepts and tools illustrated for Griffon Vultures | Journal of Experimental Biology 986-996 : 215
Engel, A., Y. Reuben, I. Kolesnikov, D. Churilov, R. Nathan, and A. Genin, (2012) ) In situ three-dimensional video tracking of tagged individuals within site-attached social groups of coral-reef fish | Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 579-588
Tsoar, A., R. Nathan, Y. Bartan, A. Vyssotski, G. Dell'Omo, and N. Ulanovsky, (2011) Large-scale navigational map in a mammal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America E718-E724 : 108
Nathan R., N. Horvitz, Y. He, A. Kuparinen, F. M. Schurr, and G. G. Katul, (2011) Spread of North-American wind-dispersed trees in future environments | Ecology Letters 211-219 : 14
Holyoak, M., R. Casagrandi, R. Nathan, E. Revilla, and O. Spiegel, (2008) Trends and missing parts in the study of movement ecology | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 19060-19065 : 105
, R., W. M. Getz, E. Revilla, M. Holyoak, R. Kadmon, D. Saltz, and P. E. Smouse, (2008) A movement ecology paradigm for unifying organismal movement research | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 19052-19059 : 105
Nathan, R., F. M. Schurr, O. Spiegel, O. Steinitz, A. Trakhtenbrot, and A. Tsoar, (2008) Mechanisms of long-distance seed dispersal | Trends in Ecology & Evolution 638-647 : 23
Spiegel, O., and R. Nathan, (2007) Incorporating dispersal distance into the disperser effectiveness framework: frugivorous birds provide complementary dispersal to plants in a patchy environment | Ecology Letters 718-728 : 10
Nathan, R, (2006) Long distance dispersal of plants | Science 786-788 : 313
Trakhtenbrot, A., R. Nathan, G. Perry, and D. M. Richardson, (2005) The importance of long-distance dispersal in biodiversity conservation | Diversity and Distributions 173-181 : 11
Higgins, S. I., R. Nathan, and M. L. Cain, (2003) Are long-distance dispersal events in plants usually caused by nonstandard means of dispersal? | Ecology 1945-1956
Nathan, R., G. G. Katul, H. S. Horn, S. M. Thomas, R. Oren, R. Avissar, S. W. Pacala, and S. A. Levin, (2002) Mechanisms of long-distance dispersal of seeds by wind | Nature 409-413
Nathan, R., and H. C. Muller-Landau, (2000) Spatial patterns of seed dispersal, their determinants and consequences for recruitment | Trends in Ecology & Evolution 278-285 : 15
Contact Details Block
Contact Details
Map of Edmond J Safra campus at Givat Ram |