13.2.2 Application of Existing Models
During the past several decades, a large number and variety of ecological
models have been developed (see Table 13.1 for a list of examples). The
variety of ecological models is reflected in their level of biological organization (population, metapopulation, food-chain, community, landscape, and
ecosystem levels), in the way they describe time (discrete versus continuous), in their treatment of variability (deterministic versus stochastic), and
in their level of detail (scalar, age-structured, stage-structured, spatially
explicit, individual-based, etc.). For reviews of ecological models, see
Burgman et al. (1993), Akçakaya and Sjögren-Gulve (2000), and Akçakaya
(2000).
The simplest way to develop a model is to apply an existing model to a
management question. “Application” means estimating parameters of the
model, based on data that are specific to the location, species, and/or system
in question, and using the model to address a specific management question about a particular case. This process is also often called “modeling,”
and it is true that analyzing case-specific data to estimate the parameters
to incorporate into an existing platform is a method of building a model.
However, we call this process “application” simply to differentiate it from
the process of writing a computer program to create a model or a modeling platform.
There are many successful applications of existing models to address
environmental issues (see Table 13.2 for a list of examples). Some of these
applications have guided or determined management decisions, as we
discuss below.
Decisions supported by model results have included listing a species
as threatened, determining the type and schedule of management actions,
and decisions on development permits. For example, in May 1995, the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife used RAMAS to develop an agestructured model in a report on the biological status assessment for the
marbled murrelet, as a response to a petition to list the species under
Oregon’s Endangered Species Act (Oregon Department of Fish and
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251
Table 13.1. Examples of existing models.
Population models
Stochastic scalar abundance models
Structured models (e.g., Leslie matrix)
Metapopulation models (e.g., RAMAS GIS and Vortex)
Landscape models
Forest landscape models (e.g., LANDIS and FORMOSAIC)
Aquatic landscape models (e.g., ATLSS)
Ecosystem models
Food-web models (e.g., RAMAS Ecosystem and Populus)
Aquatic-ecosystem models (e.g., AQUATOX, CASM, and IFEM)
During the past several decades, a large number and variety of ecological
models have been developed (see Table 13.1 for a list of examples). The
variety of ecological models is reflected in their level of biological organization (population, metapopulation, food-chain, community, landscape, and
ecosystem levels), in the way they describe time (discrete versus continuous), in their treatment of variability (deterministic versus stochastic), and
in their level of detail (scalar, age-structured, stage-structured, spatially
explicit, individual-based, etc.). For reviews of ecological models, see
Burgman et al. (1993), Akçakaya and Sjögren-Gulve (2000), and Akçakaya
(2000).
The simplest way to develop a model is to apply an existing model to a
management question. “Application” means estimating parameters of the
model, based on data that are specific to the location, species, and/or system
in question, and using the model to address a specific management question about a particular case. This process is also often called “modeling,”
and it is true that analyzing case-specific data to estimate the parameters
to incorporate into an existing platform is a method of building a model.
However, we call this process “application” simply to differentiate it from
the process of writing a computer program to create a model or a modeling platform.
There are many successful applications of existing models to address
environmental issues (see Table 13.2 for a list of examples). Some of these
applications have guided or determined management decisions, as we
discuss below.
Decisions supported by model results have included listing a species
as threatened, determining the type and schedule of management actions,
and decisions on development permits. For example, in May 1995, the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife used RAMAS to develop an agestructured model in a report on the biological status assessment for the
marbled murrelet, as a response to a petition to list the species under
Oregon’s Endangered Species Act (Oregon Department of Fish and
13. Science and Management Investments
251
Table 13.1. Examples of existing models.
Population models
Stochastic scalar abundance models
Structured models (e.g., Leslie matrix)
Metapopulation models (e.g., RAMAS GIS and Vortex)
Landscape models
Forest landscape models (e.g., LANDIS and FORMOSAIC)
Aquatic landscape models (e.g., ATLSS)
Ecosystem models
Food-web models (e.g., RAMAS Ecosystem and Populus)
Aquatic-ecosystem models (e.g., AQUATOX, CASM, and IFEM)