I agree with much of what Bill and Ken have said. There ARE a fair number of general courses that are not dominated by a particular software package, but these seem more likely to be called "mathematical biology" or "mathematical ecology" than "modelling". Two books that I've used in such courses are:
_Ecological Dynamics_ by W. S. C. Gurney and R. M. Nisbet. This book introduces the mathematical tools, examines basic models in different areas of ecology and then gets into structured populations and spatially explicit models. Mathematically, the focus is on differential and difference equations. _A Course in Mathematical Biology_ by Gerda de Vries, Thomas Hillen, Mark Lewis, and Johannes Muller. This is more general, both biologically and mathematically. It includes a bit of everything, from ODEs to cellular automata. As for general principles, I think modeling is essentially no different from what you did when solving word problems in arithmetic or algebra, except you write the problem. Some people have elaborate, multi-step procedures for doing this; others think they're a pain in the neck. I personally think an assumptions-based approach is hard to beat for clarity, but not too many people use such approaches. Jane Shevtsov On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 5:25 AM, Bill Silvert <cien...@silvert.org> wrote: > I guess I should elaborate on my brief posting. I agree with Jane, but most > courses on ecological modelling (EM) start with cabinet making. I've given a > numberf of short courses on EM at various universities, and almost always > the organisers start by asking what software I plan to use. And in fact many > (perhaps most) courses deal with the use of a specific package, such as > Stella, MatLab or ECOPATH. These packages are restrictive, none can > implement all the different modelling approaches that might be appropriate. > For example, almost none can handle something as simple as a Leslie matrix. > > There no "principles of ecological modeling" that I would describe as such, > but there are many concepts that I think should be discussed in a course but > are often omitted when the students dive straight into programming. These > include the concepts of stability and resilience, the various forms of time > series analysis and system identification. As for chaos and catastrophe > theory .... > > There is no clearly defined set of principles and approaches in EM, and > basically every course is different and depends on the views of the teacher. > A student who passes one course would likely fail the exam in a different > course. By comparison, a student who passes a course in microbiology could > probably pass the exams in other courses. This chaotic situation can have > disastrous results. > > I am sure that most modellers would consider me crazy for some of the things > I do and teach (a view I often reciprocate!). Some of the materials I have > used in modelling courses are on my website, > http://ciencia.silvert.org/models/. > > Bill Silvert > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane Shevtsov" <jane....@gmail.com> > To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> > Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 1:17 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] ecologcal modeling > > >> Ideally, you learn some carpentry before you need to build kitchen >> cabinets. >> >> Jane Shevtsov > > And Wayne Tyson wrote: >> >> Bill, what about the principles of ecological modeling; are they uniform >> across applications? > > in response to my posting > >> On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:04 PM, Bill Silvert <cien...@silvert.org> wrote: >>> >>> I find this kind of request similar to asking about courses in >>> microscopy. I >>> really don't think that anyone could construct a course that covered all >>> different kinds of ecological modelling. You start with a problem and try >>> to >>> solve it, you don't start with a hammer and look for the right kind of >>> nail. >>> >>> Bill Silvert >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Claydon" >>> <jclay...@fieldstudies.org> >>> To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> >>> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 3:59 AM >>> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] ecologcal modeling >>> >>> >>>> I was interested if there were any intensive courses on ecological >>>> modeling >>>> available during this summer. Country is not an issue. >>>> >>>> I would be grateful for any advice. >>>> >>>> Thanks >>>> >>>> John Claydon >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> ------------- >> Jane Shevtsov >> Ecology Ph.D. student, University of Georgia >> co-founder, <a href="http://www.worldbeyondborders.org";>World Beyond >> Borders</a> >> Check out my blog, <a >> href="http://perceivingwholes.blogspot.com";>Perceiving Wholes</a> >> >> "Political power comes out of the look in people's eyes." --Kim >> Stanley Robinson, _Blue Mars_ >> >> > -- ------------- Jane Shevtsov Ecology Ph.D. student, University of Georgia co-founder, <a href="http://www.worldbeyondborders.org";>World Beyond Borders</a> Check out my blog, <a href="http://perceivingwholes.blogspot.com";>Perceiving Wholes</a> "Political power comes out of the look in people's eyes." --Kim Stanley Robinson, _Blue Mars_
