Home Ranges of Animals Cognitive Maps, Research Approaches, and Insights

Animals have tremendous agency to understand the world around them and to plan how to take best advantage of that world to meet their requirements. Their perception of the world differs from humans' and includes knowledge emphasizing different senses. This book argues that to understand animals' home ranges, which are integral to the behavior and ecology of animals, biologists must understand their cognition of their environments. Presenting diverse, complementary approaches to studying home ranges, this book shows how using multiple approaches sheds a broad light on how and why animals behave as they do. The book also provides many examples showing how hypothesis-driven research provides strong insights into animal behavior and ecology.

After earning his BA from Carleton College and his PhD from the University of Chicago, Roger A. Powell arrived at North Carolina State University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He teaches courses in Animal Behavior, Animal Ecology, Evolution, and Wildlife Management in the classroom and in the field. His research emphasizes animals' home ranges from diverse perspectives, mostly using predatory mammals as subjects.