Habitat selection is a fundamental animal behavior that shapes a wide range of ecological processes, including animal movement, nutrient transfer, trophic dynamics and population distribution. Although habitat selection has been a focus of ecological studies for decades, technological, conceptual and methodological advances over the last 20 yr have led to a surge in studies addressing this process. Despite the substantial literature focused on quantifying the habitat-selection patterns of animals, there is a marked lack of guidance on best analytical practices. The conceptual foundations of the most commonly applied modeling frameworks can be confusing even to those well versed in their application. Furthermore, there has yet to be a synthesis of the advances made over the last 20 yr. Therefore, there is a need for both synthesis of the current state of knowledge on habitat selection, and guidance for those seeking to study this process. Here, we provide an approachable overview and synthesis of the literature on habitat-selection analyses (HSAs) conducted using selection functions, which are by far the most applied modeling framework for understanding the habitat-selection process. This review is purposefully non-technical and focused on understanding without heavy mathematical and statistical notation, which can confuse many practitioners. We offer an overview and history of HSAs, describing the tortuous conceptual path to our current understanding. Through this overview, we also aim to address the areas of greatest confusion in the literature. We synthesize the literature outlining the most exciting conceptual advances in the field of habitat-selection modeling, discussing the substantial ecological and evolutionary inference that can be made using contemporary techniques. We aim for this paper to provide clarity for those navigating the complex literature on HSAs while acting as a reference and best practices guide for practitioners.

中文翻译：

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栖息地选择建模的概念和方法学进展：生态学和进化指南

栖息地选择是一种基本的动物行为，它塑造了广泛的生态过程，包括动物运动、养分转移、营养动态和种群分布。尽管几十年来栖息地选择一直是生态研究的焦点，但过去 20 年的技术、概念和方法学进步导致了针对这一过程的研究激增。尽管大量文献侧重于量化动物的栖息地选择模式，但明显缺乏对最佳分析实践的指导。即使对于那些精通其应用的人来说，最常用的建模框架的概念基础也会感到困惑。此外，还没有对过去 20 年取得的进展进行综合。所以，既需要综合关于栖息地选择的当前知识状况，又需要为那些寻求研究这一过程的人提供指导。在这里，我们提供了使用选择函数进行的栖息地选择分析 (HSA) 文献的平易近人的概述和综合，这是迄今为止用于理解栖息地选择过程的最常用的建模框架。这篇评论是故意非技术性的，重点是在没有繁重的数学和统计符号的情况下理解，这会使许多从业者感到困惑。我们提供 HSA 的概述和历史，描述我们当前理解的曲折概念路径。通过本概述，我们还旨在解决文献中最容易混淆的领域。我们综合了概述栖息地选择建模领域最令人兴奋的概念进展的文献，讨论了可以使用当代技术做出的实质性生态和进化推断。我们的目标是为那些浏览有关 HSA 的复杂文献的人提供清晰的信息，同时充当从业者的参考和最佳实践指南。