A unified framework for analysis of individual-based models in ecology and beyond
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Published version
Åpne
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2644159Utgivelsesdato
2019Metadata
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- Institutt for biologi [2612]
- Publikasjoner fra CRIStin - NTNU [38525]
Sammendrag
Individual-based models,‘IBMs’, describe naturally the dynamics of interacting organisms orsocial orfinancial agents. They are considered too complex for mathematical analysis, butcomputer simulations of them cannot give the general insights required. Here, we resolve thisproblem with a general mathematical framework for IBMs containing interactions of anunlimited level of complexity, and derive equations that reliably approximate the effects ofspace and stochasticity. We provide software, specified in an accessible and intuitive gra-phical way, so any researcher can obtain analytical and simulation results for any particularIBM without algebraic manipulation. We illustrate the framework with examples frommovement ecology, conservation biology, and evolutionary ecology. This framework willprovide unprecedented insights into a hitherto intractable panoply of complex models acrossmany scientificfields