Figure 2

Fix rate can affect habitat patterns revealed by SSFs. A hypothetical terrestrial mammal is tracked with a GPS device with a 15-min fix rate. With this sampling regime, steps never cross linear features such roads, and the SSF would likely depict avoidance of roads by the animal. The same applies with a 30-min fix rate. However, 45-min or 60-min fix rates result in steps that cross roads. In this case, the fix rate is expected to affect parameter estimations, and, specifically, to influence the final pattern of selection for roads recorded for the target species (e.g. selection for roads). The opposite scenario could occur with very high fix rates, say 2-min: if this is the case, steps would be so short that either steps walked by the animal and random steps do not cross the road, and no selection or avoidance for roads would be found. Assessing the proper fix rate depending on the ecology of the species and the biological question seems to be fundamental to understand animal movement patterns properly.