TOWARDS A BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES

Recent developments in landscape-level ecological modeling rest upon p oorly understood behavioral phenomena, Surprisingly, these phenomena i nclude animal movement and habitat selection, two areas with a long hi story of study in behavioral ecology. A major problem in applying trad itional behavioral ecology to landscape-level ecological problems is t hat ecologists and behaviorists work at very different spatial scales. Thus a behavioral ecology of ecological landscapes would strive to ov ercome this inopportune differential in spatial scales. Such a landsca pe conscious behavioral undertaking would not only establish more firm ly the link between behavior and ecological systems, but also catalyze the study of basic biological phenomena of interest to behaviorists a nd ecologists alike.