Dynamic modeling in behavioral ecology / Marc Mangel, Colin W. Clark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mangel, Marc

Contributor:

Clark, Colin Whitcomb, 1931-

Series:

Monographs in behavior and ecology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal behavior--Mathematical models.

Animal behavior.

Animal behavior--Data processing.

Animal ecology--Mathematical models.

Animal ecology.

Animal ecology--Data processing.

Behavior, Animal.

Medical Subjects:

Behavior, Animal.

Physical Description:

xii, 308 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [1988]

Summary:

This book describes a powerful and flexible technique for the modeling of behavior, based on evolutionary principles. The technique employs a 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 decision 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.

Contents:

1 Fundamentals 9

1 Basic Probability 11

1.2 Discrete Random Variables and Distributions 15

1.3 Conditional Expectation 18

1.1 The Poisson Process 19

1.2 Continuous Random Variables 25

1.3 Some Other Probability Distributions 29

1.4 Renewal Processes 37

2 Patch Selection 41

2.1 Patch Selection as a Paradigm 41

2.2 Biological Examples 42

2.3 The Simplest State Variable Model 45

2.4 An Algorithm for the Dynamic Programming Equation 52

2.5 Elaborations of the Simplest Model 58

2.1 Further Elaborations of the Patch Selection Paradigm 63

2.1.1 Alternative Constraints 63

2.1.2 Variable Handling Times 64

2.1.3 A Diet Selection Model 65

2.1.4 A Model with "Fat Reserves" and "Gut Contents" 67

2.1.5 Sequential Coupling 69

2.1.6 Uncertain Final Time 71

2.2 Lifetime Fitness and Utility 73

2.3 Behavioral Observations and Forward Iteration 76

2.4 The Fitness of Suboptimal Strategies 79

Addendum to Part I: How to Write a Computer Program 82

II Applications 105

3 The Hunting Behavior of Lions 107

3.1 The Serengeti Lion 108

3.2 Some Possible Explanations of Lions' Hunting Behavior 109

3.3 A Dynamic Model 113

3.4 Communal Sharing 121

4 Reproduction in Insects 126

4.1 Fitness from Egg Production and Experimental Background 126

4.2 A Model with Mature Eggs Only 131

4.3 A Model with Mature Eggs and Oocytes 142

4.4 Parasitism and Density Dependence 143

5 Migrations of Aquatic Organisms 149

5.1 Diel Vertical Migrations of Zooplankton 152

5.1.1 Cladocerans 153

5.1.2 Copepods 162

5.2 Diel Migrations of Planktivores 165

5.2.1 A Model of Aquatic Predation 167

5.2.2 A Dynamic Model of Diel Migrations 171

5.3 Predictions of Zooplankton Migrations 178

6 Parental Allocation and Clutch Size in Birds 182

6.1 A Single-Year Model of Parental Allocation and Clutch Size 183

6.2 A Multi-Year Model of Parental Allocation and Clutch Size 192

6.3 Hypothesis Generation and Testing Dynamic Behavioral Models 195

7 Movement of Spiders and Raptors 198

7.1 Movement of Orb-Weaving Spiders 199

7.2 Population Consequences of Natal Dispersal 204

III Additional Topics 213

8 Formulation and Solution of State Variable Models 215

8.1 Identifying State Variables, Constraints, and Dynamics 217

8.2 The Optimization Criterion: Fitness 223

8.3 The Dynamic Programming Algorithm 225

8.3.1 Computer Realization 228

8.3.2 Discretization and Interpolation 228

8.3.3 Sequential Coupling 231

8.3.4 Stationarity 232

8.4 Alternative Modeling Approaches 233

8.4.1 Average-Rate Models 233

8.4.2 Mean-Variance Models 235

8.4.3 Life-History Models 238

8.4.4 Optimal Control Theory 238

8.1 Fitness in Fluctuating Environments 240

9 Some Extensions of the Dynamic Modeling Approach 247

9.1 Learning 247

9.2 Dynamic Behavioral Games 259

9.2.1 A Dynamic Game between Tephritid Flies 261

9.2.2 A Game between Juvenile Coho Salmon 270

Epilogue: Perspectives on Dynamic Modeling 280.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0691085056

0691085064

OCLC:

17841574