A novel use of the lacunarity index to discern landscape function

Discerning the function of a landscape involves comparing landscape use wit h spatial patterns. To do this requires both quantification of landscape us e and landscape pattern and a means of comparing the two. An index of lacun arity has been used to quantify spatial pattern (specifically, habitat cont agion). We demonstrate a new way of using the lacunarity index to quantify landscape function as well. We calculated lacunarity to describe landscape patchiness of experimental landscapes with respect to patterns of habitat a nd non-habitat areas (the previous use of lacunarity) as well as to describ e patterns of patch use by animals in those landscapes, irrespective of hab itat-patch patterns (a novel application of lacunarity). We demonstrate a d isparity between landscape pattern and landscape use. This finding suggests that drawing generalizations of, and making predictions about, how animals respond to landscape spatial structure may not be straightforward.