Vegetation Function Network supported by Australian Research Council and Landcare Research NZ
29. Herbivory: comparisons from an individual-based model

Organised by Steve Simpson, University of Sydney.

First meeting 27-30 November 2007, at University of Sydney

Second meeting to be held 22-24 February 2010, at U Sydney

PARTICIPANTS
Steve Simpson (U Sydney) Convenor; state-space modelling of herbivore behaviour and physiology
Mike Charleston (U Sydney) biomathematics: development of the statespace herbivore model
Kendall Clements (U Auckland) nutritional ecology of marine herbivorous fishes
Fiona Clissold (U Sydney) insect herbivore behaviour and nutritional physiology; interactions between plant chemistry and physical structure on herbivory
Ross Coleman (U Sydney) marine invertebrate herbivore behaviour
Iain Couzin (Princeton U) collective animal behaviour
Audrey Dussutour (U Sydney) collective behaviour: from individual to collective foraging decisons in social insects
Bill Foley (ANU) marsupial herbivory, plant chemistry and plant genotype effects
Iain Gordon (CSIRO, Townsville) large mammal herbivory, modelling of herbivore behaviour and physiology
Jim Hanan (U Qld) L-systems plant modelling
Adele Pile (U Sydney) marine invertebrate herbivory; interactions between wave energy, macroalgal structure and chemistry, and herbivory
Alistair Poore (UNSW) marine invertebrate herbivore behaviour in relation to environmental structure and chemistry
David Raubenheimer (U Auckland) state-space modelling of herbivore behaviour and physiology
Greg Sword (U Sydney) functional genomics, locusts, plant-herbivore interactions
Jennifer Sorensen (ANU)

PARTICIPATING IN SECOND MEETING
Simpson, Charleston, Raubenheimer, Hanan, Clissold, Sword, Jerome Buhl (U Sydney), Colin Torney (Princeton U)

   

Our aim in WG29 ‘Herbivory’ is to devise a biologically inspired modelling framework for exploring the causal links between the functional traits of individual organisms and community ecology. This necessarily involves a framework in which individual organisms interact with other organisms within a dynamic environment.

Arising from our first meeting (Nov 27-30th 2007) was the outline of a modelling approach that integrates recent advances in three disciplines: a) agent-based modelling, whereby interacting individuals following simple local rules can generate complex patterns at larger scales; b) state-space geometric models of nutrition that enable salient resources, organismal traits and their interactions to be identified and quantified, and c) models for representing environments across multiple spatial and temporal scales, with which agents can interact in silico.

A paper and several grant applications will be produced from the meeting in early 2008. The paper will serve as the manifesto for the future activities of WG29.

Last updated September 2009