One solution that has been used to gain insight into
complex, difficult-to-measure processes is to break that
process into parts and study each step separately. Our
study focuses on the first step of interpatch movement:
leaving a patch. Emigration rates are determined
by the probability of occurrence of two events: (1)
encountering the edge of a habitat patch and (2) crossing
that edge once it is encountered (Stamps, Buechner
& Krishnan 1987). Encountering an edge may be influenced
both by the amount of edge relative to total
patch area and the movement patterns of an individual
within that patch.