Data and code from: Wildlife movement models can inform large, ground-mounted photovoltaic solar energy siting and design: A case study and research agenda
Data files
Jan 26, 2026 version files 1.56 GB
Abstract
The capacity and footprint of large, ground-mounted photovoltaic solar facilities (GPVs) in the United States have grown rapidly in the early 21st century, introducing the potential for conflict with other place-based considerations such as biodiversity conservation. One critical gap in our understanding of the relationship between GPVs and biodiversity is how GPV infrastructure may affect animal movement. Here, we present data from a case study demonstrating the value of movement data for the simulation of animal responses to GPVs. The dataset contains 23,499 GPS location data collected from an eObs 1C GPS tracking collar fit to a female bobcat, nicknamed "Zapdos," in eastern North Carolina. These data were collected between January and August of 2024.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pk0p2nh29
Description of the data and file structure
We fit an integrated step selection function to location data collected from a bobcat in eastern North Carolina to quantify how several landscape factors, including GPV infrastructure, influenced its movement. We then used model results to simulate how a bobcat might respond to different GPV siting and design scenarios.
Files and variables
Wildlife_movement_models_can_inform_large__ground-mounted_photovoltaic_solar_energy_siting_and_design__a_case_study_and_research_agenda_for_Dryad.zip
File: Wildlife movement models can inform large, ground-mounted photovoltaic solar energy siting and design/ a case study and research agenda.Rproj
Description: An R Project file that generates a workspace for the workflow to operate in.
File: Integrated Step Selection Function Modeling - Bobcat Case Study and Use Cases.Rmd
Description: An R Notebook file containing the workflow needed to set up and execute all integrated step selection function modeling.
File: Figure Generation.Rmd
Description: An R Notebook file containing the workflow needed to generate manuscript visualizations.
File: nc_solar_bobcat_data.csv
Description: A .csv file containing GPS location data collected from an individual bobcat named Zapdos between January and August 2024.
Folder: Environmental Covariate Raster Stacks
File: envCovar_raster_stack.rds
Description: A raster stack with geospatial data describing the following environmental covariates in an area of eastern North Carolina near the town of Williamston: 1) the proportion of land classified as cultivated crops within 50m according to the National Land Cover Database; 2) the proportion of land classified as deciduous forest, evergreen forest, or mixed forest within 50m according to the National Land Cover Database; 3) the proportion of land classified as woody wetlands within 50m according to the National Land Cover Database; 4) the distance in meters to the nearest road, as defined by the 2024 Tiger/Line Road shapefile data; 5) the distance in meters to the fence line of the nearest large, ground-mounted solar energy facility, as defined by hand-drawn polygons based on location data from the US Photovoltaic Database; 6) the fence lines of large, ground-mounted solar energy facilities, as defined by hand-drawn polygons based on location data from the US Photovoltaic Database; 7) the distance in meters to the home range center of the bobcat "Zapdos," as calculated from Zapdos' location data; 8) a layer separating an area enclosed entirely by roads from the remainder of the landscape, created with 2024 Tiger/Line Road shapefile data.
File: envCovar_rasterstack_longSolar.rds
Description: A raster stack with data identical to that of envCovar_raster_stack.rds, with one exception. All spatial data describing the solar facility in Zapdos' home range has been altered to remove the corridor that exists between the two lobes of the facility.
File: envCovar_rasterstack_diffLCC.rds
Description: A raster stack with data identical to that of envCovar_raster_stack.rds, with a slightly altered spatial extent.
File: envCovar_rasterstack_futureDev.rds
Description: A raster stack with data similar to that of envCovar_raster_stack.rds, with a slightly altered spatial extent and information about projected solar development based on four potential net-zero energy development pathways from the Net Zero America Project: E+ BLUA, E+ CLUA, RE- BLUA, and RE+ BLUA.
Folder: Exported Utilization Distributions
Description: An empty folder that serves as the destination for utilization distributions calculated during the modeling workflow.
Folder: Figures
Description: An empty folder that serves as the destination for manuscript visualizations created during the modeling workflow.
Folder: Habitat Suitability Maps
Description: An empty folder that serves as the destination for raster data representing spatially-explicit habitat suitability for bobcats (based on the results of a resource selection function applied to movement data from the individual Zapdos) created during the modeling workflow.
Folder: Imagery and Spatial Data
File: aoi_GPV.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the fence line of the solar facility in Zapdos' home range.
File: corridor_aoi.shp
Description: A shapefile that defines a bounding box around the study area of interest.
File: diffLCC_ag.shp
Description: A shapefile that defines the simulated fence line of a simulated solar facility in an agricultural landscape.
File: diffLCC_wetland.shp
Description: A shapefile that defines the simulated fence line of a simulated solar facility in a woody wetland landscape.
File: FWSInterest_Simplified_noHoles.shp
Description: A shapefile that defines the boundaries of the Roanoke River Wildlife Refuge.
File: nc_solar_bobcat_data_goodCat.shp
Description: A shapefile that shows the point location data collected from the individual Zapdos during the study period of January - August 2024.
File: oneLongFacility.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the simulated fence line of the solar facility in Zapdos' home range if it were fenced as one contiguous facility.
File: solar_ePlusBLUA.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the projected extent of solar development by 2050 according to the Net Zero America Project's E+ BLUA scenario.
File: solar_ePlusCLUA.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the projected extent of solar development by 2050 according to the Net Zero America Project's E+ CLUA scenario.
File: solar_ReMinusBLUA.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the projected extent of solar development by 2050 according to the Net Zero America Project's RE- BLUA scenario.
File: solar_RePlusBLUA.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the projected extent of solar development by 2050 according to the Net Zero America Project's RE+ BLUA scenario.
File: tl_2024_us_state.shp
Description: A 2024 TIGER line shapefile describing the state level administrative boundaries of the United States.
File: Williamston_NC_City_Limits.shp
Description: A line shapefile describing the town of Williamston, North Carolina's city limits.
File: zapdosFacility_naip.tif
Description: National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) satellite imagery of the area around the solar facility where the individual Zapdos was tracked and trapped.
File: zapdosFacility_naip2.tif
Description: National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) satellite imagery of the area around the solar facility where the individual Zapdos was tracked and trapped.
File: zapdosFacility.shp
Description: A shapefile describing the fence line of the solar facility in Zapdos' home range.
Folder: Suitability of Used Habitat Heatmaps
Description: A folder containing a subfolder entitled "Pairwise Data," which in turn contains thirteen .csv files. Each .csv file contains pairwise data for each pixel in the study area linking that pixels intensity of habitat usage (as derived from utilization distributions calculated from integrated step selection functions fit to Zapdos' movement data; variable entitled UD, short for Utilization Distribution) and habitat quality (as derived from habitat suitability maps calculated from resource selection functions fit to Zapdos' movement data; variable entitled HSM, short for Habitat Suitability Model). The final variable in these .csv files is .geo, containing spatial information for the location of the pixel being described by the HSM and UD variables.
The file zapdos_ud_PixelValues.csv contains such data for the landscape in which Individual 13505, the focal individual of this study (nicknamed 'Zapdos'), was captured. Utilization information is derived from Zapdos' true movement data. The file simulated_zapdos_ud_PixelValues.csv contains the same data, where utilization information is derived from simulated bobcat movement based on coefficient estimates derived from Individual 13505's true movement data.
Files with the diffLCC prefix describe pairwise data for the use case testing how the presence of a solar facility may alter bobcat movement in agricultural and wetland landscapes. Files with the fencePerm prefix contain pairwise data for the use case testing how changes to the barrier effect of solar facility fencing may alter bobcat movement. Files with the longSolar prefix cont pairwise data for the use case testing how changes to solar facility design (i.e., one contiguous facility versus one with distinct lobes) may alter bobcat movement. Files with the futureDev prefix cont pairwise data for the use case testing how different layouts of multiple solar facilities across a landscape may alter bobcat movement.
Code/software
The free software programs R and R-Studio are needed to view our data and markdown workflows. We used R version 4.5.1 and R-Studio version 2024.04.0+735.pro3 (Chocolate cosmos). We used three packages within R to complete our analyses: tidyverse, tidytext, and move2.
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- Movement data can be found at the location data repository Movebank: www.movebank.org/cms/webapp?gwt_fragment=page%3Dstudies%2Cpath%3Dstudy3226927440
- To replicate the dataset used in this analysis, data should be downloaded from Movebank for individual 13505 only.