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Title The physics of foraging : an introduction to random searches and biological encounters / Gandhimohan M. Viswanathan [and others]
Published Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011
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ProQuest Ebook Central (owned titles)    View Resource Record  

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 164 pages)
Contents Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Preface; Part I: Introduction: Movement; 1 Empirical motivation for studying movement; 2 Statistical physics of biological motion; 3 Random walks and Levy flights; 4 The wandering albatross; Part Ii: Experimental findings; 5 Early studies; 6 Evidence of anomalous diffusion; 7 Human dispersal; 8 How strong is the evidence?; Part Iii: Theory of foraging; 9 Optimizing encounter rates; 10 Levy flight foraging; 11 Other search models; Part Iv: Finale: A broader context; 12 Superdiffusive random searches
13 Adaptational versus emergent superdiffusion14 Perspectives and open problems; Appendix A: Data analysis; A.1 A criterion for inferring superdiffusion; A.2 Log-log plots and surrounding controversies; A.3 Maximum likelihood estimation; Appendix B: Levy walkers inside absorbing boundaries; References; Index
Summary "Do the movements of animals, including humans, follow patterns that can be described quantitatively by simple laws of motion? If so, then why? These questions have attracted the attention of scientists in many disciplines, and stimulated debates ranging from ecological matters to queries such as 'how can there be free will if one follows a law of motion?' This is the first book on this rapidly evolving subject, introducing random searches and foraging in a way that can be understood by readers without a previous background on the subject. It reviews theory as well as experiment, addresses open problems and perspectives, and discusses applications ranging from the colonization of Madagascar by Austronesians to the diffusion of genetically modified crops. The book will interest physicists working in the field of anomalous diffusion and movement ecology as well as ecologists already familiar with the concepts and methods of statistical physics"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 140-160) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Animal behavior -- Mathematical models
Home range (Animal geography) -- Mathematical models
Biological invasions -- Mathematical models
Animal ecology -- Mathematical models
Ecology.
Appetitive Behavior
Biophysical Phenomena
Ecology
Models, Statistical
ecology.
SCIENCE -- Mathematical Physics.
SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Zoology -- General.
Ecology
Animal behavior -- Mathematical models
Animal ecology -- Mathematical models
Biological invasions -- Mathematical models
Form Electronic book
Author Viswanathan, Gandhimohan M.
ISBN 9781139093170
1139093177
9780511902680
0511902689
9781139092142
1139092146
9781139091251
1139091255
1107221617
9781107221611
1283127539
9781283127530
9786613127532
6613127531
1139092650
9781139092654
1139090348
9781139090346