The simulation integrates or sums (INTEG) the Nj population, with a change of Delta N in each generation, starting with an initial value of 5.Nj+1 = Nj  + mu (1- Nj / Nmax ) Nj

Delta Nj: is the “change in number of items” as we go from the present generation into the next generation. This is just the number of items born minus the number of items who have died.

mu: is the growth or birth rate parameter, similar to that in the exponential growth and decay model. However, as we extend our model it will no longer be the actual growth rate, but rather just a constant that tends to control the actual growth rate without being directly proportional to it.

F(Nj) = mu(1‐Nj/Nmax): is our model for the effective “growth rate”, a rate that decreases as the number of items approaches the maximum allowed by external factors such as food supply, disease or predation. (You can think of mu as the growth or birth rate in the absence of population pressure from other items.) We write this rate as F(Nj), which is a mathematical way of saying F is affected by the number of items, i.e., “F is a function of Nj”. It combines both growth and all the various environmental constraints on growth into a single function. This is a good approach to modeling; start with something that works (exponential growth) and then modify it incrementally, while still incorporating the working model.

Nj+1 = Nj + Delta Nj : This is a mathematical way to say, “The new number of items equals the old number of items plus the change in number of items”.

Nj/Nmax: is what fraction a population has reached of the maximum "carrying capacity" allowed by the external environment. We use this fraction to change the overall growth rate of the population. In the real world, as well as in our model, it is possible for a population to be greater than the maximum population (which is usually an average of many years), at least for a short period of time. This means that we can expect fluctuations in which Nj/Nmax is greater than 1.

HANDY Model of Societal Collapse from Ecological Economics Paper 

Simple mass balance model for lakes, based on the Vollenweider equation:

dMw/dt = Min - sMw - Mout

In Chile, 60% of its population are exposed to levels of Particulate Matter (PM) above international standards. Air Pollution is causing 4,000 premature deaths per year, including health costs over US$8 billion.

The time-variable solution to a step-function change in inflow concentration for an ideal, completely mixed lake.

This model is a classic simulation of the production cycle in the ocean, including the effects of the thermocline in switching off advection of dissolved nutrients and detritus to the surface layer.

It illustrates a number of interesting features including the coupling of three state variables in a closed cycle, the use of time to control the duration of advection, and the modulus function for cycling annual temperature data over multiple years.

The model state variables are expressed in nitrogen units (mg N m-3), and the calibration is based on:

Baliño, B.M. 1996. Eutrophication of the North Sea, 1980-1990: An evaluation of anthropogenic nutrient inputs using a 2D phytoplankton production model. Dr. scient. thesis, University of Bergen.
 
Fransz, H.G. & Verhagen, J.H.G. 1985. Modelling Research on the Production Cycle of Phytoplankton in the Southern Bight of the Northn Sea in Relation to Riverborne Nutrient Loads. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 19 (3/4): 241-250.

This model was first implemented in PowerSim some years ago by one of my M.Sc. students, who then went on to become a Buddhist monk. Although this is a very Zen model, as far as I'm aware, the two facts are unrelated.

UDB 100 Assignment 1D


This simulation shows the drastic decline in the SEQ koala population due to various issues including human urban development, environmental issues, disease, habitat loss and domestic animals.

Simple mass balance model for lakes based on the Vollenweider equation:

dMw/dt = Min - sMw + pMs - Mout

The model was first used in the 1960s to determine the phosphorus concentration in lakes and reservoirs for eutrophication assessment.

This version considers mercury, and adds diagenesis, using an extra state variable (mercury in the sediment), and incorporates desorption processes that release mercury trapped in the sediment back to the water column.

The temporal dynamics of the model simulate the typical development of pollution in time.

1. Low loading, low Hg concentration in lake
2. High loading, increasing Hg concentration in lake
3. Desorption rate is low, Hg in sediment increases
4. Measures implemented for source control, loading reduces
5. Hg in lake gradually decreases, but below a certain point, desorption increases, and lake Hg concentration does not improve
6. Recovery only occurs when the secondary load in the sediment is strongly reduced.

Westley, F. R., O. Tjornbo, L. Schultz, P. Olsson, C. Folke, B. Crona and Ö. Bodin. 2013. A theory of transformative agency in linked social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 18(3): 27. link

Food Web

ENP 65000 assignment

Simple model to illustrate oyster growth based on primary production of Phytoplankton as a state variable, forced by light and nutrients, running for a yearly period.

Phytoplankton growth based on on Steele's and Michaelis-Menten equations), where: 

Primary Production=(([Pmax]*[I]/[Iopt]*exp(1-[I]/[Iopt])*[S])/([Ks]+[S]))

Pmax: Maximum production (d-1)
I: Light energy at depth of interest (uE m-2 s-1)
Iopt: Light energy at which Pmax occurs (uE m-2 s-1)
S: Nutrient concentration (umol N L-1)
Ks: Half saturation constant for nutrient (umol N L-1).

Further developments:
- Nutrients as state variable in cycle with detritus from phytoplankton and oyster biomass.
- Light limited by the concentration of phytoplankton.
- Temperature effect on phytoplankton and Oyster growth.

Fig 3.1 from Jorgen Randers book 2052 a Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years

Primitives for Watershed modeling project. Click Clone Insight at the top right to make a copy that you can edit.

The converter in this file contains precipitation for Tucson only. Tucson watersheds are Arroyo Chico, Canada Agua, and Lower Canada del Oro.

Interplay between wolves eating sheep and farmers killing wolves who kill deer that eat crops that feed sheep.

Interplay between wolves eating sheep and farmers killing wolves.

For Sustainability & Eco Innovation class

Simple (Kind of) food web of the Cane Toad Species. Includes different levels of consumers including predators.

A simple model for breeding plants from generation to generation in 3 different locations, with one "yield" variable (e.g. height) and 4 combinations of plants from the parents. Simulation tracks the frequencies of each combination in each generation as well as the overall average height by generation.