5. Verifying Models
E
xperimental evidence is required for validation of simulation models
of morphogenesis. Testing the predictive value of the simulation model
experiments is crucial and the design ofvalidation experiments requires close
collaboration between experimentalists and modelers. An important test is
to try to predict the consequences of perturbations of the growth process
using the simulation model. Comparison of the predicted results and the
actual results of a perturbed growth process can be used to test the degree
to which the simulation model approx imates the organ ism. Transplantation
and other perturbation experiments, for example, experimentally induced
changes in the physical environment and other manipulations in which the
growth process is affected, represent an important option for studying the
growth process. In this chapter several examples of these experiments done
in stony corals (Sect. 5.1), sponges (Sect. 5.2), and hydrozoans (Sect. 5.3) will
be presented. In the second section, some examples will be given as to
how the experimental manipulations compare to the predictions done using
simulation models, discussed in Sect. 4.6.
In most cases detailed information on the growth process of marine sessile organisms is not available in the literature; experiments in which growth
and form of the organism is followed for a longer period provide crucial information for the construction of simulation models of growth and form .
Through transplantation experiments in which organims are transplanted
from an environment with certain physical conditions to another one, it
becomes possible to distinguish between morphological variations induced
by physical environments and those by genetic differences. On the other
hand, simulation models can be used as a guide in experiments to identify
missing crucial experimental information and to indicate interesting experimental manipulations and also allow for detailed estimations of, for example,
concentration gradients or microfiows (see Sections 4.5 and 4.6), which are
experimentally not feasible.
5.1 Transplantation Experiments with Stony Corals
Transplantation is an important experimental procedure to examine mechanisms controlling growth forms in stony corals. Bycomparing the fragments
before and after transplantation, we can distinguish between morphological
variations induced by physical environments and those by genetic differences, and know which environmental condition causes the plastic changes
of morphology and how the mechanism of development varies between the
J. A. Kaandorp et al., The Algorithmic Beauty of Seaweeds, Sponges and Corals
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001
E
xperimental evidence is required for validation of simulation models
of morphogenesis. Testing the predictive value of the simulation model
experiments is crucial and the design ofvalidation experiments requires close
collaboration between experimentalists and modelers. An important test is
to try to predict the consequences of perturbations of the growth process
using the simulation model. Comparison of the predicted results and the
actual results of a perturbed growth process can be used to test the degree
to which the simulation model approx imates the organ ism. Transplantation
and other perturbation experiments, for example, experimentally induced
changes in the physical environment and other manipulations in which the
growth process is affected, represent an important option for studying the
growth process. In this chapter several examples of these experiments done
in stony corals (Sect. 5.1), sponges (Sect. 5.2), and hydrozoans (Sect. 5.3) will
be presented. In the second section, some examples will be given as to
how the experimental manipulations compare to the predictions done using
simulation models, discussed in Sect. 4.6.
In most cases detailed information on the growth process of marine sessile organisms is not available in the literature; experiments in which growth
and form of the organism is followed for a longer period provide crucial information for the construction of simulation models of growth and form .
Through transplantation experiments in which organims are transplanted
from an environment with certain physical conditions to another one, it
becomes possible to distinguish between morphological variations induced
by physical environments and those by genetic differences. On the other
hand, simulation models can be used as a guide in experiments to identify
missing crucial experimental information and to indicate interesting experimental manipulations and also allow for detailed estimations of, for example,
concentration gradients or microfiows (see Sections 4.5 and 4.6), which are
experimentally not feasible.
5.1 Transplantation Experiments with Stony Corals
Transplantation is an important experimental procedure to examine mechanisms controlling growth forms in stony corals. Bycomparing the fragments
before and after transplantation, we can distinguish between morphological
variations induced by physical environments and those by genetic differences, and know which environmental condition causes the plastic changes
of morphology and how the mechanism of development varies between the
J. A. Kaandorp et al., The Algorithmic Beauty of Seaweeds, Sponges and Corals
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001