Download or read book Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals written by Steven F. Railsback and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecologists now recognize that the dynamics of populations, communities, and ecosystems are strongly affected by adaptive individual behaviors. Yet until now, we have lacked effective and flexible methods for modeling such dynamics. Traditional ecological models become impractical with the inclusion of behavior, and the optimization approaches of behavioral ecology cannot be used when future conditions are unpredictable due to feedbacks from the behavior of other individuals. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to state- and prediction-based theory, or SPT, a powerful new approach to modeling trade-off behaviors in contexts such as individual-based population models where feedbacks and variability make optimization impossible. Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals features a wealth of examples that range from highly simplified behavior models to complex population models in which individuals make adaptive trade-off decisions about habitat and activity selection in highly heterogeneous environments. Steven Railsback and Bret Harvey explain how SPT builds on key concepts from the state-based dynamic modeling theory of behavioral ecology, and how it combines explicit predictions of future conditions with approximations of a fitness measure to represent how individuals make good—not optimal—decisions that they revise as conditions change. The resulting models are realistic, testable, adaptable, and invaluable for answering fundamental questions in ecology and forecasting ecological outcomes of real-world scenarios.
Download or read book Adaptive Individuals In Evolving Populations written by Richard K. Belew and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-04 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is out of a workshop organized to address questions like these. The meeting was sponsored by the Santa Fe Institute and held at Sol y Sam- bra in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during July, 1993. It brought together a group of about 20 scientists from the disciplines of biology, psychology, and computer science, all studying interactions between the evolution of populations and individuals’ adaptations in those populations, and all of whom make some use of computational tools in their work.
Download or read book Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals written by Steven F. Railsback and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book offers a new theory for modeling how organisms make tradeoff decisions and how these decisions affect both individuals and populations. Tradeoff decisions (or behaviors) are those that are optimize survival and include behaviors like foraging and reproduction. Existing theories have not painted a complete picture of tradeoff decisions because they only observe how the decisions of an individual affect them rather than how individuals impact, and are impacted by, the behavior of their communities. The authors' theory-which they call state and prediction based theory-uses individual-based models since these models show the complex ways that organisms relate to their environment. The authors' broader approach, one that integrates behavior and population dynamics, allows ecologists to see how individuals make adaptive tradeoff decisions. In simpler terms, this theory does not assume, as the previous models do, that future conditions are fixed, known, and unaffected by the behavior of others. Instead, the authors assume individuals make decisions like people do, which is by forecasting future conditions, using approximation to make good decisions, and updating their choices as conditions change"--
Download or read book Individual based Modeling and Ecology written by Volker Grimm and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-11-28 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Individual-based models are an exciting and widely used new tool for ecology. These computational models allow scientists to explore the mechanisms through which population and ecosystem ecology arises from how individuals interact with each other and their environment. This book provides the first in-depth treatment of individual-based modeling and its use to develop theoretical understanding of how ecological systems work, an approach the authors call "individual-based ecology.? Grimm and Railsback start with a general primer on modeling: how to design models that are as simple as possible while still allowing specific problems to be solved, and how to move efficiently through a cycle of pattern-oriented model design, implementation, and analysis. Next, they address the problems of theory and conceptual framework for individual-based ecology: What is "theory"? That is, how do we develop reusable models of how system dynamics arise from characteristics of individuals? What conceptual framework do we use when the classical differential equation framework no longer applies? An extensive review illustrates the ecological problems that have been addressed with individual-based models. The authors then identify how the mechanics of building and using individual-based models differ from those of traditional science, and provide guidance on formulating, programming, and analyzing models. This book will be helpful to ecologists interested in modeling, and to other scientists interested in agent-based modeling.
Download or read book Adaptive Individuals In Evolving Populations written by Richard K. Belew and published by Westview Press. This book was released on 1996-05-22 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theory of evolution has been most successful explaining the emergence of new species in terms of their morphological traits. Ethologists teach that behaviors, too, qualify as first-class phenotypic features, but evolutionary accounts of behaviors have been much less satisfactory. In part this is because maturational ”programs” transforming genotype to phenotype are ”open” to environmental influences affected by behaviors. Further, many organisms are able to continue to modify their behavior, i.e., learn, even after fully mature. This creates an even more complex relationship between the genotypic features underlying the mechanisms of maturation and learning and the adapted behaviors ultimately selected.A meeting held at the Santa Fe Institute during the summer of 1993 brought together a small group of biologists, psychologists, and computer scientists with shared interests in questions such as these. This volume consists of papers that explore interacting adaptive systems from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. About half of the articles are classic, seminal references on the subject, ranging from biologists like Lamarck and Waddington to psychologists like Piaget and Skinner. The other half represent new work by the workshop participants. The role played by mathematical and computational tools, both as models of natural phenomena and as algorithms useful in their own right, is particularly emphasized in these new papers. In all cases, the prefaces help to put the older papers in a modern context. For the new papers, the prefaces have been written by colleagues from a discipline other than the paper's authors, and highlight, for example, what a computer scientist can learn from a biologist's model, or vice versa. Through these cross-disciplinary ”dialogues” and a glossary collecting multidisciplinary connotations of pivotal terms, the process of interdisciplinary investigation itself becomes a central theme.
Download or read book Integrated Population Models written by Michael Schaub and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2021-11-12 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Integrated Population Models: Theory and Ecological Applications with R and JAGS is the first book on integrated population models, which constitute a powerful framework for combining multiple data sets from the population and the individual levels to estimate demographic parameters, and population size and trends. These models identify drivers of population dynamics and forecast the composition and trajectory of a population. Written by two population ecologists with expertise on integrated population modeling, this book provides a comprehensive synthesis of the relevant theory of integrated population models with an extensive overview of practical applications, using Bayesian methods by means of case studies. The book contains fully-documented, complete code for fitting all models in the free software, R and JAGS. It also includes all required code for pre- and post-model-fitting analysis. Integrated Population Models is an invaluable reference for researchers and practitioners involved in population analysis, and for graduate-level students in ecology, conservation biology, wildlife management, and related fields. The text is ideal for self-study and advanced graduate-level courses. Offers practical and accessible ecological applications of IPMs (integrated population models) Provides full documentation of analyzed code in the Bayesian framework Written and structured for an easy approach to the subject, especially for non-statisticians
Download or read book Adaptive Diversification MPB 48 written by Michael Doebeli and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-21 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adaptive biological diversification occurs when frequency-dependent selection generates advantages for rare phenotypes and induces a split of an ancestral lineage into multiple descendant lineages. Using adaptive dynamics theory, individual-based simulations, and partial differential equation models, this book illustrates that adaptive diversification due to frequency-dependent ecological interaction is a theoretically ubiquitous phenomenon"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Food Webs written by John C. Moore and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents new approaches to studying food webs, using practical and policy examples to demonstrate the theory behind ecosystem management decisions.
Download or read book Mixed Effects Models for the Population Approach written by Marc Lavielle and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wide-Ranging Coverage of Parametric Modeling in Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects ModelsMixed Effects Models for the Population Approach: Models, Tasks, Methods and Tools presents a rigorous framework for describing, implementing, and using mixed effects models. With these models, readers can perform parameter estimation and modeling across a whol
Download or read book Adaptive Herbivore Ecology written by R. Norman Owen-Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-06-27 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique monograph describing plant-herbivore interactions in the context of large African herbivorous mammals.
Download or read book Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-10-04 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward reviews the science that underpins the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States, concluding that constructive changes could be implemented. The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros, to model the effects of management actions on the animals, or to assess the availability and use of forage on rangelands. Evidence suggests that horse populations are growing by 15 to 20 percent each year, a level that is unsustainable for maintaining healthy horse populations as well as healthy ecosystems. Promising fertility-control methods are available to help limit this population growth, however. In addition, science-based methods exist for improving population estimates, predicting the effects of management practices in order to maintain genetically diverse, healthy populations, and estimating the productivity of rangelands. Greater transparency in how science-based methods are used to inform management decisions may help increase public confidence in the Wild Horse and Burro Program.
Download or read book Mathematical Modeling and Computational Methods for Structured Populations written by Mingtao Xia and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structured population models are fundamental in the fields of biology, ecology, and social sciences, as they provide both theoretical insights and practical applications. Different structured population models range from modeling cellular population proliferation and population dynamics to simulating disease spread on social networks. However, there has been little work on modeling populations across different scales that could link individual behavior to population dynamics. Additionally, for existing mathematical models on structured populations, several computational challenges arise as how to develop efficient numerical solvers to simulate those models and to control the dynamics of those models. Overall, my dissertation covers three related topics: modeling structured populations, developing efficient numerical solvers to simulate these models, and developing control algorithms to control population dynamics. Specifically, my dissertation focuses on modeling and devising algorithms for two types of structured populations: i) age, size, or added size-structured cell population for describing cellular proliferation and ii) the structured infected-time- or number-of-contact-based human population for describing disease spread. Regarding the structured cellular population, we derive mathematical models at both the macroscopic population dynamics level and microscopic individual behavior level, leading to structured partial differential equation (PDE) models for cellular proliferation with different structure variables such as cellular age, size, or added size. Next, we develop an efficient adaptive spectral method for numerically solving spatiotemporal PDEs, which was inspired by simulating the blowup behavior in the unbounded-domain PDE model for cellular populations. In addition to the structured population models, the adaptive spectral method proves efficient and accurate in solving a wide range of spatiotemporal PDEs in unbounded domains such as the Schr dinger equations in quantum mechanics. Regarding the structured human population, we introduce an infected-time-structured PDE model and a number-of-contact-structured ODE model for simulating disease spread, e.g., COVID-19, in the population. Then, for the number-of-contact-structured ODE model, we develop classic Pontryagin-maximum-principle-based and reinforcement-learning-based optimal control algorithms. These two algorithms can effectively mitigate the spread of disease by appropriately allocating limited test kits or vaccination resources.
Download or read book Agent Based Computational Modelling written by Francesco C. Billari and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2006-03-13 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present book describes the methodology to set up agent-based models and to study emerging patterns in complex adaptive systems resulting from multi-agent interaction. It offers the application of agent-based models in demography, social and economic sciences and environmental sciences. Examples include population dynamics, evolution of social norms, communication structures, patterns in eco-systems and socio-biology, natural resource management, spread of diseases and development processes. It presents and combines different approaches how to implement agent-based computational models and tools in an integrative manner that can be extended to other cases.
Download or read book Analysis and Management of Animal Populations written by Byron K. Williams and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2002-04-17 with total page 837 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analysis and Management of Animal Populations deals with the processes involved in making informed decisions about the management of animal populations. It covers the modeling of population responses to management actions, the estimation of quantities needed in the modeling effort, and the application of these estimates and models to the development of sound management decisions. The book synthesizes and integrates in a single volume the methods associated with these themes, as they apply to ecological assessment and conservation of animal populations. Integrates population modeling, parameter estimation and decision-theoretic approaches to management in a single, cohesive framework Provides authoritative, state-of-the-art descriptions of quantitative approaches to modeling, estimation and decision-making Emphasizes the role of mathematical modeling in the conduct of science and management Utilizes a unifying biological context, consistent mathematical notation, and numerous biological examples
Download or read book Agent Based and Individual Based Modeling written by Steven F. Railsback and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential textbook on agent-based modeling—now fully updated and expanded Agent-Based and Individual-Based Modeling has become the standard textbook on the subject for classroom use and self-instruction. Drawing on the latest version of NetLogo and fully updated with new examples, exercises, and an enhanced text for easier comprehension, this is the essential resource for anyone seeking to understand how the dynamics of biological, social, and other complex systems arise from the characteristics of the agents that make up these systems. Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm lead students stepwise through the processes of designing, programming, documenting, and doing scientific research with agent-based models, focusing on the adaptive behaviors that make these models necessary. They cover the fundamentals of modeling and model analysis, introduce key modeling concepts, and demonstrate how to implement them using NetLogo. They also address pattern-oriented modeling, an invaluable strategy for modeling real-world problems and developing theory. This accessible and authoritative book focuses on modeling as a tool for understanding real complex systems. It explains how to pose a specific question, use observations from actual systems to design models, write and test software, and more. A hands-on introduction that guides students from conceptual design to computer implementation to analysis Filled with new examples and exercises and compatible with the latest version of NetLogo Ideal for students and researchers across the natural and social sciences Written by two leading practitioners Supported by extensive instructional materials at www.railsback-grimm-abm-book.com
Download or read book Spatial Ecology written by David Tilman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spatial Ecology addresses the fundamental effects of space on the dynamics of individual species and on the structure, dynamics, diversity, and stability of multispecies communities. Although the ecological world is unavoidably spatial, there have been few attempts to determine how explicit considerations of space may alter the predictions of ecological models, or what insights it may give into the causes of broad-scale ecological patterns. As this book demonstrates, the spatial structure of a habitat can fundamentally alter both the qualitative and quantitative dynamics and outcomes of ecological processes. Spatial Ecology highlights the importance of space to five topical areas: stability, patterns of diversity, invasions, coexistence, and pattern generation. It illustrates both the diversity of approaches used to study spatial ecology and the underlying similarities of these approaches. Over twenty contributors address issues ranging from the persistence of endangered species, to the maintenance of biodiversity, to the dynamics of hosts and their parasitoids, to disease dynamics, multispecies competition, population genetics, and fundamental processes relevant to all these cases. There have been many recent advances in our understanding of the influence of spatially explicit processes on individual species and on multispecies communities. This book synthesizes these advances, shows the limitations of traditional, non-spatial approaches, and offers a variety of new approaches to spatial ecology that should stimulate ecological research.
Download or read book The Theory of Ecological Communities MPB 57 written by Mark Vellend and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecology—understanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and time—is shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology's various perspectives into a more unified whole. Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theory—selection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutation—and together they subsume almost all of the many dozens of more specific models built to describe the dynamics of communities of interacting species. The result is a theory that allows the effects of many low-level processes, such as competition, facilitation, predation, disturbance, stress, succession, colonization, and local extinction to be understood as the underpinnings of high-level processes with widely applicable consequences for ecological communities. Reframing the numerous existing ideas in community ecology, The Theory of Ecological Communities provides a new way for thinking about biological composition and diversity.
