Category Archives: Ecological Modeling

My review of Railsback and Grimm’s “Agent-based and individual-based modeling” textbook published in Ecology

I am excited by the recent publication of my review of Agent-based and individual-based modeling: a practical introduction in the January issue of Ecology. The review, entitled “Individual-based modeling for the masses“, lauds this valuable textbook designed to support individual-based … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Ecological Modeling, Individual-based Models, My publications, Spatially Explicit Modeling | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Michael Ruse on James Lovelock’s Gaia of 2012

The Chronicle of Higher Education “Saving Gaia From the Greens“

Posted in A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biography, Climate Change, Ecological Modeling, Ecosystem Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Religion, Survival, Sustainability | Leave a comment

My ESA 2012 Poster is on Faculty of 1000 posters

F1000 Posters “The Evolution of Sustainable Use: a flash-based classroom tool for teaching population biology and sustainable resource management“

Posted in A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Biodiversity Loss, Carrying Capacity, Cooperation, Ecological Modeling, Marine Ecosystems, Multilevel Selection, My publications, Population Growth, Public Policy, Sustainability, Sustainable Harvesting, System Stability, Teaching, Teaching Tools, The Evolution of Sustainable Use | Leave a comment

My review of “How Species Interact” published in Ecological Modelling

My review of How Species Interact: Altering the Standard View of Trophic Ecology by Roger Arditi and Lev R. Ginzburg was just published in Ecological Modelling. You can also read the review here. Lev Ginzburg was my dissertation advisor, so clearly … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Books, Ecological Modeling, Ecology, My publications, Predation | 1 Comment

ESA 2012 Overall Impressions

What was the ‘big news’ at this year’s Ecological Society of America meeting? Given that this meeting is composed of so many different meetings running concurrently, this just might be an impossible question to answer fairly. But for me, this … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Altruism, Biodiversity Loss, Conservation Biology, Cooperation, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Ecology Education, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Group Selection, Marine Ecosystems, Multilevel Selection, Public Policy, Punishment, Resource Consumption, Social Capital, Sustainability, System Stability, Talks & Seminars, Teaching, Teaching Tools, The Evolution of Sustainable Use | Leave a comment

ESA 2012 Thursday afternoon talks

I spent Thursday afternoon once again hustling from one talk to another, with Organized Oral Session #47 (Universal Senescence? New Theories and Experimental Approaches Across the Tree of Life) being my primary focus. The writings of George C. Williams and … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Behavior, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Ecosystem Services, Freshwater Ecosystems, Individual-based Models, Parasitism, Phenotypic Plasticity, Ponds & Lakes, Predation, Senescence, Spatially Explicit Modeling, Sustainable Agriculture, Talks & Seminars, Tropical Forest | Leave a comment

ESA 2012 Workshop #8, Getting off the Ground with Individual-Based Modeling: A Primer for Instructors and Researchers

I got off to a running start at this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) annual meeting with a workshop orchestrated by Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm. Entitled “Getting off the Ground with Individual-Based Modeling: A Primer for Instructors and … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit Modeling, Talks & Seminars | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Preview of the 2012 Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Portland, Oregon

I am off to another Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting, my sixth and the society’s ninety-seventh. As I already covered in a previous post, I will be presenting a poster entitled “The Evolution of Sustainable Use, a flash-based classroom … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Anthropogenic Change, Behavior, Conferences, Cooperation, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Interactions, Sustainability, Talks & Seminars, Teaching | Tagged | Leave a comment

Preview of my ESA 2012 poster promoting the Evolution of Sustainable Use activity

This year I am proud to be returning to the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. I missed last year’s meeting and I am excited to be overwhelmed by all the amazing scholarship that is on display at … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Biodiversity Loss, Carrying Capacity, Conferences, Cooperation, Cultural Evolution, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Ecology, Ecology Education, Economic sustainability, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Food, Group Selection, Marine Ecosystems, Population Growth, Population Pressure, Predation, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, System Stability, Teaching Tools, The Evolution of Sustainable Use | Leave a comment

Perhaps nestedness is just an artifact of ecological opportunity (and not stability)

One of my chief interests is stability: I am curious about what allows for the persistence of genes, individuals, groups, species, and communities. This is a broad question and it may not have single, simple answer, but it is exciting … Continue reading

Posted in A Major Post, Articles, Coevolution, Ecological Modeling, Interactions, Mutualism, Mutualistic Networks, Pollination, System Stability | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Online tools for teaching the basics of population growth

The Otherwise population growth simulator In what now seems like an infamous episode in my early career, I once tried to deliver a sample lesson on population growth during an all-day interview for a full-time teaching position at a fairly … Continue reading

Posted in Carrying Capacity, Ecological Modeling, Educational Software and Apps, MSCI-270, Ecology, Population Growth | 2 Comments

If Only Game Designers Were Scientists

Today’s New York Times Magazine featured an article entitled “Where Do Dwarf-Eating Carp Come From?”. The article describes the quirky aspirations of Tarn Adams, the programmer behind the underground computer game called Dwarf Fortress. Like other simulation-based games, Dwarf Fortress … Continue reading

Posted in Computing, Ecological Modeling, Evolutionary Modeling, Individual-based Models, Modeling (General), Spatially Explicit Modeling, System Stability | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

ESA 2009 Day #3 (Tuesday) – “Big Models” Special Session

During Tuesday evening of ESA’s meeting I attended a really great special session entitled “Big Models in Ecology: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Are All Possible Outcomes”. Organized by Vince Gutschick, the session began with a series of overviews … Continue reading

Posted in Computing, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Individual-based Models, Mathematics, Talks & Seminars | Leave a comment