A review on the development of individual-based model in ecology

Abstract

Unlike traditional population models which are defined in terms of top-down parameters, individual-based models are bottom-up models in which population level behaviors are emerging from the interactions among individuals. Ecologists can use individual-based models to tackle new kinds of problems that are not easily solved by population models, so individual-based modeling has been fueled the desire of ecologists to understand natural complexity and how it emerges from the variability and adaptability of individual organisms. In this paper, we investigate the improvements that ecology has made from the individual-based models during the last five decades, and talk about the two primary challenges to individual-based modeling.