Effect of urbanisation on space use in sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita)

Urbanisation is expected to shape animal movement in several predictable ways. For example, a major review in carnivores found that most studied species exhibit a decreasing home range size with increasing urbanisation, likely caused by high-quality resources and increased landscape heterogeneity. Research on colonial animals, by contrast, has suggested that larger colonies generally increase foraging trips’ distance due to local competition. In my research, I investigate how environmental and social factors interact to shape space use in sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita). By tracking individuals across nine communal roosts along an urbanisation gradient and analysing environmental metrics—urbanisation, habitat heterogeneity, and vegetation quality—within home ranges and recursive sites, I aim to understand and predict variation in space use. Additionally, I am leveraging a novel tracking system that integrates Bluetooth (BLE) tags with mobile phone networks, enabling high-frequency, low-cost data collection with extended battery life, particularly useful for urban species