"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"--

Ecologists now recognize that the dynamics of populations, communities, and ecosystems are strongly affected by adaptive individual behaviors. Yet until now, we have lacked effective and flexible methods for modeling such dynamics. Traditional ecological models become impractical with the inclusion of behavior, and the optimization approaches of behavioral ecology cannot be used when future conditions are unpredictable due to feedbacks from the behavior of other individuals. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to state- and prediction-based theory, or SPT, a powerful new approach to modeling trade-off behaviors in contexts such as individual-based population models where feedbacks and variability make optimization impossible. Modeling Populations of Adaptive Individuals features a wealth of examples that range from highly simplified behavior models to complex population models in which individuals make adaptive trade-off decisions about habitat and activity selection in highly heterogeneous environments. Steven Railsback and Bret Harvey explain how SPT builds on key concepts from the state-based dynamic modeling theory of behavioral ecology, and how it combines explicit predictions of future conditions with approximations of a fitness measure to represent how individuals make good—not optimal—decisions that they revise as conditions change. The resulting models are realistic, testable, adaptable, and invaluable for answering fundamental questions in ecology and forecasting ecological outcomes of real-world scenarios.

Intended to provide a recipe for successful development of wildlife habitat models and their implementation in conservation planning, the book could be used in studying wildlife habitat models, conservation planning, and management techniques. Additionally it may be a supplemental text in courses dealing with quantitative assessment of wildlife populations. Additionally, the length of the book would be ideal for graduate student seminar course. Using wildlife habitat models in conservation planning is of considerable interest to wildlife biologists. With ever tightening budgets for wildlife research and planning activities, there is a growing need to use computer methods. Use of simulation models represents the single best alternative. However, it is imperative that these techniques be described in a single source. Moreover, biologists should be made aware of alternative modeling techniques.-

Adaptive processes and economic theory; Biological systems as paradigms for adaptation; Optimization and evolution in the theory of the firm; The market adaptation of the firm; Learning by firms about demand conditions; Further notes on the allocation of effort.

Proceedings of the 2d- International Biometeorological Congress, 1960-

This book provides a contemporary view of the major issues facing ecologists and outlines some of the strengths and weaknesses of the current ecological framework and its utility in managing biological systems. It includes contributions from world experts, and looks at important themes including theoretical and experimental population ecology, the conservation of endangered species, the management of pests and the sustainable management of resources. The chapters deal with a wide range of organisms including plants, pathogens, insects, molluscs, birds, marine and terrestrial mammals. New technologies and approaches are also covered.