Vertebrate Natal Dispersal: The Problem of Non-Independence of Siblings

The studies on natal dispersal in vertebrates often ignore the family structure and treat the behaviour or siblings as if they were statistically independent. This might lead to erroneous conclusions since the non-independence or siblings is supported empirically. We show the possible misinterpretations that may arise from such approaches and propose a method allowing to avoid this problem. We illustrate this method by using data on natal dispersal or the common lizard Lacerta vivipara