Aphid Population Dynamics in Agricultural Landscapes: An Agent-based Simulation Model

Presently, there are many population models in existence, but these are often case specific,function at a single spatial scale and fail to tackle the complexity arising from individual actions andinteractions that exist in the real-world. A spatially explicit agent-based simulation model has beendeveloped to represent aphid population dynamics in agricultural landscapes. Over time, the aphid agentsinteract with the landscape and with one another. The construction of the model is detailed, includingparameterisation and coupling to a geographical information system (GIS). The results show that a spatialmodelling approach that considers both landscape properties and factors such as wind speed and directionprovides greater insight into aphid population dynamics both spatially and temporally. This forms the basisfor the development of further simulation models that can be used to analyse how changes in landscapestructure impact upon important species distributions and population dynamics.