sOAR: a tool for modelling optimal animal life-history strategies in cyclic environments
- Periodic environments determine the life cycle of many animals across the globe and the timing of important life history events, such as reproduction and migration. These adaptive behavioural strategies are complex and can only be fully understood (and predicted) within the framework of natural selection in which species adopt evolutionary stable strategies. We present sOAR, a powerful and user-friendly implementation of the well-established framework of optimal annual routine modelling. It allows determining optimal animal life history strategies under cyclic environmental conditions using stochastic dynamic programming. It further includes the simulation of population dynamics under the optimal strategy. sOAR provides an important tool for theoretical studies on the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. It is especially suited for studying bird migration. In particular, we integrated options to differentiate between costs of active and passive flight into the optimal annual routine modelling framework, as well as optionsPeriodic environments determine the life cycle of many animals across the globe and the timing of important life history events, such as reproduction and migration. These adaptive behavioural strategies are complex and can only be fully understood (and predicted) within the framework of natural selection in which species adopt evolutionary stable strategies. We present sOAR, a powerful and user-friendly implementation of the well-established framework of optimal annual routine modelling. It allows determining optimal animal life history strategies under cyclic environmental conditions using stochastic dynamic programming. It further includes the simulation of population dynamics under the optimal strategy. sOAR provides an important tool for theoretical studies on the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. It is especially suited for studying bird migration. In particular, we integrated options to differentiate between costs of active and passive flight into the optimal annual routine modelling framework, as well as options to consider periodic wind conditions affecting flight energetics. We provide an illustrative example of sOAR where food supply in the wintering habitat of migratory birds significantly alters the optimal timing of migration. sOAR helps improving our understanding of how complex behaviours evolve and how behavioural decisions are constrained by internal and external factors experienced by the animal. Such knowledge is crucial for anticipating potential species’ response to global environmental change.…
Author details: | Merlin SchäferORCiD, Stephan Menz, Florian JeltschORCiDGND, Damaris ZurellORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03328 |
ISSN: | 0906-7590 |
ISSN: | 1600-0587 |
Title of parent work (English): | Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Place of publishing: | Hoboken |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2017/08/24 |
Publication year: | 2017 |
Release date: | 2022/01/17 |
Volume: | 41 |
Issue: | 3 |
Number of pages: | 7 |
First page: | 551 |
Last Page: | 557 |
Funding institution: | DIP grants (DFG) [NA 846/1-1, WI 3576/1-1]; DFG-GRKGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [2118/1]; People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the (EU) [624958]; Swiss National Science Foundation SNSFSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) [PZ00P3_168136/1] |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Bronze Open-Access |