A concept for the optimization of nonlinear functions using particle swarm methodology is introduced. The evolution of several paradigms is outlined, and an implementation of one of the paradigms is discussed. Benchmark testing of the paradigm is described, and applications, including nonlinear function optimization and neural network training, are proposed. The relationships between particle swarm optimization and both artificial life and genetic algorithms are described.

Particle swarm optimization

Conservationists are far from able to assist all species under threat, if only for lack of funding. This places a premium on priorities: how can we support the most species at the least cost? One way is to identify 'biodiversity hotspots' where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. As many as 44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth. This opens the way for a 'silver bullet' strategy on the part of conservation planners, focusing on these hotspots in proportion to their share of the world's species at risk.

Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities

A concept for the optimization of nonlinear functions using particle swarm methodology is introduced The evolution of several paradigms is outlined, and an implementation of one of the paradigms is discussed Benchmark testing of the paradigm is described, and applications, including nonlinear function optimization and neural network training, are proposed The relationships between particle swarm optimization and both artificial life and genetic algorithms are described

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Cooperation in organisms, whether bacteria or primates, has been a difficulty for evolutionary theory since Darwin. On the assumption that interactions between pairs of individuals occur on a probabilistic basis, a model is developed based on the concept of an evolutionarily stable strategy in the context of the Prisoner's Dilemma game. Deductions from the model, and the results of a computer tournament show how cooperation based on reciprocity can get started in an asocial world, can thrive while interacting with a wide range of other strategies, and can resist invasion once fully established. Potential applications include specific aspects of territoriality, mating, and disease.

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The Evolution of Cooperation

Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Ressenya de l'obra d'E. O. Wilson apareguda el 1975,  Sociobiology. The New Synthesis .The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

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Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Conducts a definitive study of the social structure and symbiotic relationships of termites, social wasps, bees, and ants.

The Insect Societies

In this groundbreaking new book, one of the world's greatest living scientists argues for the fundamental unity of all knowledge and the need to search for what he calls consilience, the composition of the principles governing every branch of learning Edward O Wilson, the pioneer of sociobiology and biodiversity, once again breaks out of the conventions of current thinking He shows how our explosive rise in intellectual mastery of the truths of our universe has its roots in the ancient Greek concept of an intrinsic orderliness that governs our cosmos It is a vision that found its apogee in the Age of Enlightenment, then gradually was lost in the increasing fragmentation and specialisation of knowledge in the last two centuries Professor Wilson shows why the goals of the original Enlightenment are surging back to life, why they are reappearing on the very frontiers of science and human scholarship, and how they are beginning to sketch themselves as the blueprint of our world

Edward O. Wilson

Papers

The Theory of Island Biogeography

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

The Insect Societies

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge