Module Information and Requirements

The RhinoOMS Dashboard modules allow users to explore and interrogate their data, including registered rhinos, calf history, growth rate, summary tables, maps, and more.

Specifically, the Home Ranges tab of the Maps module allows users to view minimum convex polygons and kernel density estimates based off sightings for one or more rhinos. R package “adehabitatHR” is used to calculate and plot minimum convex polygons and kernel density estimates, using the “mcp” and “kernelUD” functions, respectively. The kernel density estimate represents home range, defined in this case as the “minimum area in which an animal has some specified probability of being located”. (1)

To proceed, please ensure you have the following:

  • Stable internet connection
  • S3 and Redshift/Database credentials


Step-by-Step Guidelines

Step 1

Select site.

Step 2

Select the Rhino name / Notch number / RhinoOMS ID you would like to map. You can select more than one.

Step 3

Select the sighting Observation Type you would like to consider.

Step 4

Specify the Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) percentages. Selecting 100 will use 100% of the sightings when computing the MCP and KDE. Anything less will remove a proportion of outliers in the computation. (1)
In this way, smaller percentages will result in smaller, core depictions of home range.

Step 5

Click “Generate Map” to load the sightings, MCP, and KDE on the map for the specified rhino/s and observation/s.

The Proximity Radius slider at the bottom of the map can be used to determine which rhinos are within proximity to any specified location. To use this tool, drop a marker on the map, specify how far the proximity radius should be, then click “Proximity” to see a list of rhinos that are within the radius of the marker. This can be used to determine rhinos that may be in close proximity to a dangerous location or event.
Note: this list only considers the rhinos that were selected for in Step 2 above, and not all rhinos at a given site.

- Hover over the map to show interactive information.
- Scroll to zoom in/out, and click and drag to move around the map.
- Hover over the layers icon in the top right to allow for customization of background map and hiding/un-hiding the MCP, KDE, and sites.
- Hover over the measurements icon to allow for distances and areas to be calculated.
- Click on the Marker button in the top left to drop a marker/pin on the map. Click the Edit button just beneath that to edit the location of the marker, and click on the Delete button to remove an existing marker.



Problems?

If you experience any issues, please report it to the Issue Tracker.



References

1- Calenge C. (2006). The package adehabitat for the R software: tool for the analysis of space and habitat use by animals. Ecological Modelling, 197, 1035. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/adehabitatHR/adehabitatHR.pdf