Download or read book Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology written by Colin W. Clark and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-02-10 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to a set of powerful and extremely flexible modeling techniques, starting at "square one" and continuing with carefully chosen applications. Some of these applications of methodology include insect oviposition behavior, overwinter survival of birds and fish, avian migration, resource management, conservation biology, agroecology, and human behavior. This book also explains how to construct, test, and use dynamic state variable models in a wide range of contexts in evolutionary ecology, and its complete and up-to-date coverage allows readers to immediately begin using the described techniques. Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology is designed for self-instruction or for use in upper division undergraduate or graduate courses. It is ideal for students and scientists interested in behavior, ecology, anthropology, conservation biology, and related fields.
Download or read book Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology written by Colin W. Clark and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-02-10 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to a set of powerful and extremely flexible modeling techniques--starting at "square one"--and is ideal for students and scientists in behavior studies, ecology, anthropology, conservation biology, and related fields.
Download or read book Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology written by Marc Mangel and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes a powerful and flexible technique for the modeling of behavior, based on evolutionary principles. The technique employs stochastic dynamic programming and permits the analysis of behavioral adaptations wherein organisms respond to changes in their environment and in their own current physiological state. Models can be constructed to reflect sequential decisions concerned simultaneously with foraging, reproduction, predator avoidance, and other activities. The authors show how to construct and use dynamic behavioral models. Part I covers the mathematical background and computer programming, and then uses a paradigm of foraging under risk of predation to exemplify the general modeling technique. Part II consists of five "applied" chapters illustrating the scope of the dynamic modeling approach. They treat hunting behavior in lions, reproduction in insects, migrations of aquatic organisms, clutch size and parental care in birds, and movement of spiders and raptors. Advanced topics, including the study of dynamic evolutionarily stable strategies, are discussed in Part III.
Download or read book Dynamic Models in Biology written by Stephen P. Ellner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-19 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From controlling disease outbreaks to predicting heart attacks, dynamic models are increasingly crucial for understanding biological processes. Many universities are starting undergraduate programs in computational biology to introduce students to this rapidly growing field. In Dynamic Models in Biology, the first text on dynamic models specifically written for undergraduate students in the biological sciences, ecologist Stephen Ellner and mathematician John Guckenheimer teach students how to understand, build, and use dynamic models in biology. Developed from a course taught by Ellner and Guckenheimer at Cornell University, the book is organized around biological applications, with mathematics and computing developed through case studies at the molecular, cellular, and population levels. The authors cover both simple analytic models--the sort usually found in mathematical biology texts--and the complex computational models now used by both biologists and mathematicians. Linked to a Web site with computer-lab materials and exercises, Dynamic Models in Biology is a major new introduction to dynamic models for students in the biological sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
Download or read book Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology written by Colin Whitcomb Clark and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2000 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to a set of powerful and extremely flexible modeling techniques, starting at "square one" and continuing with carefully chosen applications. Some of these applications of methodology include insect oviposition behavior, overwinter survival of birds and fish, avian migration, resource management, conservation biology, agroecology, and human behavior. This book also explains how to construct, test, and use dynamic state variable models in a wide range of contexts in evolutionary ecology, and its complete and up-to-date coverage allows readers to immediately begin using the described techniques. Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology is designed for self-instruction or for use in upper division undergraduate or graduate courses. It is ideal for students and scientists interested in behavior, ecology, anthropology, conservation biology, and related fields.
Download or read book A Practical Guide to Ecological Modelling written by Karline Soetaert and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-14 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematical modelling is an essential tool in present-day ecological research. Yet for many ecologists it is still problematic to apply modelling in their research. In our experience, the major problem is at the conceptual level: proper understanding of what a model is, how ecological relations can be translated consistently into mathematical equations, how models are solved, steady states calculated and interpreted. Many textbooks jump over these conceptual hurdles to dive into detailed formulations or the mathematics of solution. This book attempts to fill that gap. It introduces essential concepts for mathematical modelling, explains the mathematics behind the methods, and helps readers to implement models and obtain hands-on experience. Throughout the book, emphasis is laid on how to translate ecological questions into interpretable models in a practical way. The book aims to be an introductory textbook at the undergraduate-graduate level, but will also be useful to seduce experienced ecologists into the world of modelling. The range of ecological models treated is wide, from Lotka-Volterra type of principle-seeking models to environmental or ecosystem models, and including matrix models, lattice models and sequential decision models. All chapters contain a concise introduction into the theory, worked-out examples and exercises. All examples are implemented in the open-source package R, thus taking away problems of software availability for use of the book. All code used in the book is available on a dedicated website.
Download or read book The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation written by Dolph Schluter and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-08-31 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adaptive radiation is the evolution of diversity within a rapidly multiplying lineage. It can cause a single ancestral species to differentiate into an impressively vast array of species inhabiting a variety of environments. Much of life's diversity has arisen during adaptive radiations. Some of the most famous recent examples include the East African cichlid fishes, the Hawaiian silverswords, and of course, Darwin's Gal--aacute--;pagos finches,. This book evaluates the causes of adaptive radiation. It focuses on the 'ecological' theory of adaptive radiation, a body of ideas that began with Darwin and was developed through the early part of the 20th Century. This theory proposes that phenotypic divergence and speciation in adaptive radiation are caused ultimately by divergent natural selection arising from differences in environment and competition between species. In The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation the author re-evaluates the ecological theory, along with its most significant extensions and challenges, in the light of all the recent evidence. This important book is the first full exploration of the causes of adaptive radiation to be published for decades, written by one of the world's best young evolutionary biologists.
Download or read book Behavioral Ecology of Insect Parasitoids written by Eric Wajnberg and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-30 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a team of leading international specialists, Behavioral Ecology of Insect Parasitoids examines the optimal behaviors that parasitoids exhibit in order to maximize long term offspring production. It is an essential reference for research scientists and students studying these fascinating insects or for anyone involved in using parasitoids in biological control programs. Reviews topical issues, including cutting edge research on parasitoid decision making and the implications for biological control Explores applications in other fields, provides information on the latest research methods, and includes helpful case studies and statistical tools Creates a deeper understanding of the link between behavioural strategies and host mortality, resulting in more efficient selective pest management programs “Overall, this is a fascinating volume that provides a significant contribution to the literature on parasitoid insects. It goes a long way toward providing insights into numerous aspects of parasitoid behavior and will stimulate a diversity of future projects, something that should be the goal of any such text. I highly recommend Wajnberg et al. for all of those working on the biology or evolution of parasitoids.” Palaios 2009
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Theoretical Ecology written by Alan Hastings and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-05-31 with total page 848 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A bold and successful attempt to illustrate the theoretical foundations of all of the subdisciplines of ecology, including basic and applied, and extending through biophysical, population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Encyclopedia of Theoretical Ecology is a compendium of clear and concise essays by the intellectual leaders across this vast breadth of knowledge."--Harold Mooney, Stanford University "A remarkable and indispensable reference work that also is flexible enough to provide essential readings for a wide variety of courses. A masterful collection of authoritative papers that convey the rich and fundamental nature of modern theoretical ecology."--Simon A. Levin, Princeton University "Theoretical ecologists exercise their imaginations to make sense of the astounding complexity of both real and possible ecosystems. Imagining a real or possible topic left out of the Encyclopedia of Theoretical Ecology has proven just as challenging. This comprehensive compendium demonstrates that theoretical ecology has become a mature science, and the volume will serve as the foundation for future creativity in this area."--Fred Adler, University of Utah "The editors have assembled an outstanding group of contributors who are a great match for their topics. Sometimes the author is a key, authoritative figure in a field; and at other times, the author has enough distance to convey all sides of a subject. The next time you need to introduce ecology students to a theoretical topic, you'll be glad to have this encyclopedia on your bookshelf."--Stephen Ellner, Cornell University “Everything you wanted to know about theoretical ecology, and much that you didn’t know you needed to know but will now! Alan Hastings and Louis Gross have done us a great service by bringing together in very accessible form a huge amount of information about a broad, complicated, and expanding field.”--Daniel Simberloff, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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 Ecological Models and Data in R written by Benjamin M. Bolker and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-21 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction and background; Exploratory data analysis and graphics; Deterministic functions for ecological modeling; Probability and stochastic distributions for ecological modeling; Stochatsic simulation and power analysis; Likelihood and all that; Optimization and all that; Likelihood examples; Standar statistics revisited; Modeling variance; Dynamic models.
Download or read book Introduction to Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling for Ecological Data written by Eric Parent and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making statistical modeling and inference more accessible to ecologists and related scientists, Introduction to Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling for Ecological Data gives readers a flexible and effective framework to learn about complex ecological processes from various sources of data. It also helps readers get started on building their own statistical models. The text begins with simple models that progressively become more complex and realistic through explanatory covariates and intermediate hidden states variables. When fitting the models to data, the authors gradually present the concepts and techniques of the Bayesian paradigm from a practical point of view using real case studies. They emphasize how hierarchical Bayesian modeling supports multidimensional models involving complex interactions between parameters and latent variables. Data sets, exercises, and R and WinBUGS codes are available on the authors’ website. This book shows how Bayesian statistical modeling provides an intuitive way to organize data, test ideas, investigate competing hypotheses, and assess degrees of confidence of predictions. It also illustrates how conditional reasoning can dismantle a complex reality into more understandable pieces. As conditional reasoning is intimately linked with Bayesian thinking, considering hierarchical models within the Bayesian setting offers a unified and coherent framework for modeling, estimation, and prediction.
Download or read book Consumer resource Dynamics written by William W. Murdoch and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2003-05-26 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite often violent fluctuations in nature, species extinction is rare. California red scale, a potentially devastating pest of citrus, has been suppressed for fifty years in California to extremely low yet stable densities by its controlling parasitoid. Some larch budmoth populations undergo extreme cycles; others never cycle. In Consumer-Resource Dynamics, William Murdoch, Cherie Briggs, and Roger Nisbet use these and numerous other biological examples to lay the groundwork for a unifying theory applicable to predator-prey, parasitoid-host, and other consumer-resource interactions. Throughout, the focus is on how the properties of real organisms affect population dynamics. The core of the book synthesizes and extends the authors' own models involving insect parasitoids and their hosts, and explores in depth how consumer species compete for a dynamic resource. The emerging general consumer-resource theory accounts for how consumers respond to differences among individuals in the resource population. From here the authors move to other models of consumer-resource dynamics and population dynamics in general. Consideration of empirical examples, key concepts, and a necessary review of simple models is followed by examination of spatial processes affecting dynamics, and of implications for biological control of pest organisms. The book establishes the coherence and broad applicability of consumer-resource theory and connects it to single-species dynamics. It closes by stressing the theory's value as a hierarchy of models that allows both generality and testability in the field.
Download or read book Strategic Management of Marine Ecosystems written by Eugene Levner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-05-06 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demand for advanced management methods and tools for marine ecosystems is increasing worldwide. Today, many marine ecosystems are significantly affected by disastrous pollution from industrial, agricultural, municipal, transportational, and other anthropogenic sources. The issues of environmental integrity are especially acute in the Mediterranean and Red Sea basins, the cradle of modern civilization. The drying of the Dead Sea is one of the most vivid examples of environmental disintegration with severe negative consequences on the ecology, industry, and wildlife in the area. Strategic management and coordination of international remedial and restoration efforts is required to improve environmental conditions of marine ecosystems in the Middle East as well as in other areas. The NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) held in Nice in October 2003 was designed to: (1) provide a discussion forum for the latest developments in the field of environmentally-conscious strategic management of marine environments, and (2) integrate expertise of ecologists, biologists, economists, and managers from European, American, Canadian, Russian, and Israeli organizations in developing a framework for strategic management of marine ecosystems. The ASI addressed the following issues: Key environmental management problems in exploited marine ecosystems; Measuring and monitoring of municipal, industrial, and agricultural effluents; Global contamination of seawaters and required remedial efforts; Supply Chain Management approach for strategic coastal zones management and planning; Development of environmentally friendly technologies for coastal zone development; Modeling for sustainable aquaculture; and Social, political, and economic challenges in marine ecosystem management.
Download or read book Handbook of Scaling Methods in Aquatic Ecology written by Laurent Seuront and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2003-09-25 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evolution of observational instruments, simulation techniques, and computing power has given aquatic scientists a new understanding of biological and physical processes that span temporal and spatial scales. This has created a need for a single volume that addresses concepts of scale in a manner that builds bridges between experimentalists and
Download or read book Predictability and Nonlinear Modelling in Natural Sciences and Economics written by J. Grasman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 662 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Researchers in the natural sciences are faced with problems that require a novel approach to improve the quality of forecasts of processes that are sensitive to environmental conditions. Nonlinearity of a system may significantly complicate the predictability of future states: a small variation of parameters can dramatically change the dynamics, while sensitive dependence of the initial state may severely limit the predictability horizon. Uncertainties also play a role. This volume addresses such problems by using tools from chaos theory and systems theory, adapted for the analysis of problems in the environmental sciences. Sensitive dependence on the initial state (chaos) and the parameters are analyzed using methods such as Lyapunov exponents and Monte Carlo simulation. Uncertainty in the structure and the values of parameters of a model is studied in relation to processes that depend on the environmental conditions. These methods also apply to biology and economics. For research workers at universities and (semi)governmental institutes for the environment, agriculture, ecology, meteorology and water management, and theoretical economists.
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.
