Posted 23 Sep 2011 / 0
This month’s issue of PLoS Computational Biology contained an interesting article entitled “Signalling and the Evolution of Cooperative Foraging in Dynamic Environments“. Authored by Colin J. Torney, Andrew Berdahl, Iain D. Couzin (all of Princeton University), the article seeks to understand the ecological conditions under which costly signaling can evolve. Many animals emit signals to Read More
Altruism, Articles, Cooperation, Game Theory, Group Selection, Individual-based Models, Modeling (General), Reciprocity, Spatially Explicit Modeling
Posted 09 Sep 2011 / 0
Mussel beds off of Polzeath, United Kingdom (photo by Andy F) Natural selection is often oversimplified as the effect of the outside environment on the survival and reproduction probability of individual organisms. In the end this perspective has some value: individual organisms either survive and reproduce or they do not. But along the way, an Read More
Behavioral Ecology, Competition, Cooperation, Emergence, Individual-based Models, Intertidal Zones, Population Growth, Spatially Explicit Modeling
Posted 24 Jul 2011 / 1
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 allows players to engineer a society (in this case made of dwarves) that faces adversity Read More
Computing, Ecological Modeling, Evolutionary Modeling, Individual-based Models, Modeling (General), Spatially Explicit Modeling, System Stability
Posted 20 Jan 2011 / 7
In a recent posting I discussed the book The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod [1, 2]. The book chronicles Axelrod’s work in the 1980’s to understand the dynamics of the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma (IPD), which is perhaps the most well-known of game theory constructs. Axelrod’s work is important because it points out how rich Read More
Cooperation, Easy Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma, Educational Software and Apps, Evolution Education, Evolutionary Modeling, Game Theory, Individual-based Models, Lesson Ideas, Reciprocity, Spatially Explicit Modeling, System Stability, Teaching, Teaching Tools
Posted 10 Jan 2011 / 0
I just finished reading Robert Axelrod’s seminal book entitled The Evolution of Cooperation. Although I had read a lot about Axelrod’s work and am quite familiar with the body of literature that it inspired, I had never actually read his book cover to cover. Going in, my expectation was of finding a rather primitive treatment Read More
Altruism, Behavioral Ecology, Books, Coevolution, Cooperation, Cultural Evolution, Evolution, Evolutionary Modeling, Game Theory, Human Evolution, Individual-based Models, Interdisciplinarity, Multilevel Selection, Mutualism, Political Science, Public Policy, Reciprocity, Sociology, Spatially Explicit Modeling
Posted 04 Jan 2011 / 0
In a couple of days I will be attending the In the Light of Evolution V: Cooperation colloquium, and in preparation I have been reviewing the work of the featured speakers. Tomorrow, I will be posting a preview of the meeting. The meeting promises to be broad and interdisciplinary. It also features a very elite Read More
Conferences, Cooperation, Social Network Analysis
Posted 05 Aug 2009 / 0
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 by Gutschick, Lou Gross, Lara Prihodko, and Matthew Potts. It then opened up for a Read More
A Major Post, Computing, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Individual-based Models, Mathematics, Talks & Seminars
