Due to the complexity and non-linearity of most ecological problems, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have attracted attention from ecologists and environmental scientists in recent years. As these networks are increasingly being used in ecology for modeling, simulation, function approximation, prediction, classification and data mining, this unique and self-contained book will be the first comprehensive treatment of this subject, by providing readers with overall and in-depth knowledge on algorithms, programs, and applications of ANNs in ecology. Moreover, a new area of ecology, i.e., computational ecology, is proposed and its scopes and objectives are defined and discussed.Computational Ecology consists of two parts: the first describes the methods and algorithms of ANNs, interpretability and mathematical generalization of neural networks, Matlab neural network toolkit, etc., while the second provides case studies of applications of ANNs in ecology, Matlab codes, and comparisons of ANNs with conventional methods. This publication will be a valuable reference for research scientists, university teachers, graduate students and high-level undergraduates in the areas of ecology, environmental sciences, and computational science.

Ch. 1. Introduction. 1. Computational ecology. 2. Artificial neural networks and ecological applications -- pt. I. Artificial neural networks : principles, theories and algorithms. ch. 2. Feedforward neural networks. 1. Linear separability and perceptron. 2. Some analogies of multilayer feedforward networks. 3. Functionability of multilayer feedforward networks. ch. 3. Linear neural networks. 1. Linear neural networks. 2. LMS rule. ch. 4. Radial basis function neural networks. 1. Theory of RBF neural network. 2. Regularized RBF neural network. 3. RBF neural network learning. 4. Probabilistic neural network. 5. Generalized regression neural network. 6. Functional link neural network. 7. Wavelet neural network. ch. 5. BP neural network. 1. BP algorithm. 2. BP theorem. 3. BP training. 4. Limitations and improvements of BP algorithm. ch. 6. Self-organizing neural networks. 1. Self-organizing feature map neural network. 2. Self-organizing competitive learning neural network. 3. Hamming neural network. 4. WTA neural network. 5. LVQ neural network. 6. Adaptive resonance theory. ch. 7. Feedback neural networks. 1. Elman neural network. 2. Hopfield neural networks. 3. Simulated annealing. 4. Boltzmann machine. ch. 8. Design and customization of artificial neural networks. 1. Mixture of experts. 2. Hierarchical mixture of experts. 3. Neural network controller. 4. Customization of neural networks. ch. 9. Learning theory, architecture choice and interpretability of neural networks. 1. Learning theory. 2. Architecture choice. 3. Interpretability of neural networks. ch. 10. Mathematical foundations of artificial neural networks. 1. Bayesian methods. 2. Randomization, bootstrap and Monte Carlo techniques. 3. Stochastic process and stochastic differential equation. 4. Interpolation. 5. Function approximation. 6. Optimization methods. 7. Manifold and differential geometry. 8. Functional analysis. 9. Algebraic topology. 10. Motion stability. 11. Entropy of a system. 12. Distance or similarity measures. ch. 11. Matlab neural network toolkit. 1. Functions of perceptron. 2. Functions of linear neural networks. 3. Functions of BP neural network. 4. Functions of self-organizing neural networks. 5. Functions of radial basis neural networks. 6. Functions of probabilistic neural network. 7. Function of generalized regression neural network. 8. Functions of Hopfield neural network. 9. Function of Elman neural network -- pt. II. Applications of artificial neural networks in ecology. ch. 12. Dynamic modeling of survival process. 1. Model description. 2. Data description. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 13. Simulation of plant growth process. 1. Model description. 2. Data source. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 14. Simulation of food intake dynamics. 1. Model description. 2. Data description. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 15. Species richness estimation and sampling data documentation. 1. Estimation of plant species richness on grassland. 2. Documentation of sampling data of invertebrates. ch. 16. Modeling arthropod abundance from plant composition of grassland community. 1. Model description. 2. Data description. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 17. Pattern recognition and classification of ecosystems and functional groups. 1. Model description. 2. Data source. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 18. Modeling spatial distribution of arthropods. 1. Model description. 2. Data description. 3. Results. 4. Discussion. ch. 19. Risk assessment of species invasion and establishment. 1. Invasion risk assessment based on species assemblages. 2. Determination of abiotic factors influencing species invasion. ch. 20. Prediction of surface ozone. 1. BP prediction of daily total ozone. 2. MLP Prediction of hourly ozone levels. ch. 21. Modeling dispersion and distribution of oxide and nitrate pollutants. 1. Modeling nitrogen dioxide dispersion. 2. Simulation of nitrate distribution in ground water. ch. 22. Modeling terrestrial biomass. 1. Estimation of aboveground grassland biomass. 2. Estimation of trout biomass

Graphs, networks and agent-based modeling are the most thriving and attracting sciences used in ecology and environmental sciences. As such, this book is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject in the areas of ecology and environmental sciences.From this integrated and self-contained book, researchers, university teachers and students will be provided with an in-depth and complete insight on knowledge, methodology and recent advances of graphs, networks and agent-based-modeling in ecology and environmental sciences.Java codes and a standalone software package will be presented in the book for easy use for those not familiar with mathematical details.

Propelled by advances in software design and increasing connectivity, distributed computational systems are acquiring characteristics reminiscent of social and biological organizations. This volume is a collection of articles dealing with the nature, design and implementation of these open computational systems. Although varied in their approach and methodology, the articles are related by the goal of understanding and building computational ecologies. They are grouped in three major sections. The first deals with general issues underlying open systems, studies of computational ecologies, and their similarities with social organizations. The second part deals with actual implementations of distributed computation, and the third discusses the overriding problem of designing suitable languages for open systems. All the articles are highly interdisciplinary, emphasizing the application of ecological ideas, game theory, market mechanisms, and evolutionary biology in the study of open systems.

This book describes the models, methods and algorithms that are most useful for analysing the ever-increasing supply of molecular sequence data, with a view to furthering our understanding of the evolution of genes and genomes.

Graphs, networks and agent-based modeling are the most thriving and attracting sciences used in ecology and environmental sciences. As such, this book is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject in the areas of ecology and environmental sciences. From this integrated and self-contained book, researchers, university teachers and students will be provided with an in-depth and complete insight on knowledge, methodology and recent advances of graphs, networks and agent-based-modeling in ecology and environmental sciences. Java codes and a standalone software package will be presented in the book for easy use for those not familiar with mathematical details.

Scientists need statistics. Increasingly this is accomplished using computational approaches. Freeing readers from the constraints, mysterious formulas and sophisticated mathematics of classical statistics, this book is ideal for researchers who want to take control of their own statistical arguments. It demonstrates how to use spreadsheet macros to calculate the probability distribution predicted for any statistic by any hypothesis. This enables readers to use anything that can be calculated (or observed) from their data as a test statistic and hypothesize any probabilistic mechanism that can generate data sets similar in structure to the one observed. A wide range of natural examples drawn from ecology, evolution, anthropology, palaeontology and related fields give valuable insights into the application of the described techniques, while complete example macros and useful procedures demonstrate the methods in action and provide starting points for readers to use or modify in their own research.