Abstract: Spatial and temporal scale analysis has been an important concept and hot topic of study in ecology. However, sufficient attention has not been paid to this topic in the field of animal habitatselection. Habitat selection can be viewed as a hierarchical process, involving various levels of decision-making and a series of hierarchical ranks, and is severely restricted by temporal and spatial scales. Additionally, there are distinct characteristics and mechanisms at every level and scale. Temporally-dependent habitat selection behavior may be influenced by such factors as timing of the breeding season, social pressures, temporal environmental variability, and variability inananimal’s physiological needs over time; spatially-dependent habitat selection behavior may be influenced by such factors as patchy distribution of habitat resources and the interaction of various functional habitats. The scales employed by researchers in habitat selection studies may directly affect results of the research both in scientific value and practical value. This paper focuses on the characteristics of temporal-dependence and spatial-dependence in habitat selection, analyzes the significance of scale in the study of animal habitat selection, and reviews scales usually employed in habitat selection studies. Finally, the author emphasized emphasizes the necessity for multi-scale and long-term animal habitat selection studies and recommends that scale selection should be the starting point and foundation for habitat selection research.

Key words: Dependence, Habitat selection, Spatial scale, Temporal scale

摘要： 尺度研究已成为生态学上的一个重要概念和研究热点，但是在动物生境选择的研究中尚未引起足够的重视。动物的生境选择包括多层次的判别和一系列等级序位，在各个尺度和水平上具有不同的特征和机制，受到时空尺度的严格限定。繁殖期的时间限制、社群压力、环境变化、动物生理需求的变化决定了动物生境选择的时间制约性;而生境资源的斑块化分布、功能生境之间的相互作用决定了动物生境选择的空间制约性。研究者对时间和空间尺度的选取与应用会直接影响到生境选择研究结果的科学性和实效性。本文从动物生境选择的时空制约性出发，分析了生境选择研究中时间尺度的重要性，叙述了国内外生境选择研究中常见的研究尺度，强调了多尺度研究和长期生态研究的必要性，尺度的选择应该成为生境选择研究的起点和基础。

关键词: 生境选择, 时间尺度, 空间尺度, 制约性