Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology PDF Author: Marc Mangel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691085064
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
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.

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology PDF Author: Marc Mangel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691085064
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology PDF Author: Marc Mangel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691206961
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 325

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology

Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology PDF Author: Colin W. Clark
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198028628
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
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.

Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals

Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals PDF Author: Steven F. Railsback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180490
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
"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"--

Dynamic Models in Biology

Dynamic Models in Biology PDF Author: Stephen P. Ellner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400840961
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
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.

Dynamic Modeling of Environmental Systems

Dynamic Modeling of Environmental Systems PDF Author: Michael L. Deaton
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461213002
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
A primer on modeling concepts and applications that is specifically geared toward the environmental field. Sections on modeling terminology, the uses of models, the model-building process, and the interpretation of output provide the foundation for detailed applications. After an introduction to the basics of dynamic modeling, the book leads students through an analysis of several environmental problems, including surface-water pollution, matter-cycling disruptions, and global warming. The scientific and technical context is provided for each problem, and the methods for analyzing and designing appropriate modeling approaches is provided. While the mathematical content does not exceed the level of a first-semester calculus course, the book gives students all of the background, examples, and practice exercises needed both to use and understand environmental modeling. It is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and beginning-graduate level environmental professionals seeking an introduction to modeling in their field.

Ecological Modeling

Ecological Modeling PDF Author: William E. Grant
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444359932
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Ecological Modeling:A Commonsense Approach to Theory and Practice explores how simulation modeling and its new ecological applications can offer solutions to complex natural resource management problems. This is a practical guide for students, teachers, and professional ecologists. Examines four phases of the modeling process: conceptual model formulation, quantitative model specification, model evaluation, and model use Provides useful building blocks for constructing systems simulation models Includes a format for reporting the development and use of simulation models Offers an integrated systems perspective for students, faculty, and professionals Features helpful insights from the author, gained over 30 years of university teaching "I can strongly recommend the book as textbook for all courses in population dynamic modeling particularly when the course is planned for the second or third year of a bachelor study in ecology, environmental science or ecological engineering. It uncovers very clearly for the readers the scientific idea and thinking behind modeling and all the necessary steps in the development of models." Ecological Modeling Journal, 2009

Animal Social Networks

Animal Social Networks PDF Author: Dr. Jens Krause
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199679045
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
The scientific study of networks - computer, social, and biological - has received an enormous amount of interest in recent years. However, the network approach has been applied to the field of animal behaviour relatively late compared to many other biological disciplines. Understanding social network structure is of great importance for biologists since the structural characteristics of any network will affect its constituent members and influence a range of diverse behaviours. These include finding and choosing a sexual partner, developing and maintaining cooperative relationships, and engaging in foraging and anti-predator behavior. This novel text provides an overview of the insights that network analysis has provided into major biological processes, and how it has enhanced our understanding of the social organisation of several important taxonomic groups. It brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing both an overview of the power of the network approach for understanding patterns and process in animal populations, as well as outlining how current methodological constraints and challenges can be overcome. Animal Social Networks is principally aimed at graduate level students and researchers in the fields of ecology, zoology, animal behaviour, and evolutionary biology but will also be of interest to social scientists.

Individual-based Modeling and Ecology

Individual-based Modeling and Ecology PDF Author: Volker Grimm
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691096667
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
The authors begin their book with a general primer on modelling before addressing the problems of theory and conceptual framework for individual-based ecology. An extensive review illustrates the ecological problems that have been addressed with individual-based models.

Modeling Dynamic Biological Systems

Modeling Dynamic Biological Systems PDF Author: Bruce Hannon
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461206510
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
Models help us understand the dynamics of real-world processes by using the computer to mimic the actual forces that are known or assumed to result in a system's behavior. This book does not require a substantial background in mathematics or computer science.