Deterministic individual-based cellular automata modelling of single species population dynamics

Abstract

This presentation was created to characterise foundations of cellular automata modelling of single species population dynamics. We show models of single species population growth based on deterministic birth-death-regeneration process and demonstrate a relationship between fecundity rate and population growth rate. Our models provide mechanistic simulation of logistic-like and double logistic-like curves of population growth that is not possible in the classical Verhulst model (logistic growth model). This method is deterministic individual-based and is based on logical “if-then” statements only. As this method is bottom-up mechanistic and provides a direct visual insight into dynamics of complex systems, we used it to study mechanisms of interspecific competition in further experiments.