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

/pdf/particle-swarm-optimization-r1hjpa7ad3.pdf

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.

/pdf/the-evolution-of-cooperation-pwc4krac7e.pdf

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

The alarm-defence system of the ant Acanthomyops claviger

Experimental evidence shows that the odor trail of the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima (Fr. Smith) is produced as a secretion of the accessory gland of the poison apparatus and released through the extruded sting. Preliminary studies suggest that this substance may be chemically allied to or even identical with the toxic principle of the venom.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/129/3349/643.full.pdf

Source and Possible Nature of the Odor Trail of Fire Ants

Major workers of Oecophylla longinoda mark their territories with persistent pheromones that are distinguishable to the ants at the colony level. Workers detecting the deposits of an alien colony respond with increased amounts of aversive and aggressive behavior, and they later recruit nestmates to the area at a higher rate. Colonies entering a field impregnated with their own scent also gain an initial advantage in warfare with other colonies. The pheromones are located at least in part in drops of rectal sac fluid deposited by workers over the territorial surface.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/74/5/2072.full.pdf

Colony-specific territorial pheromone in the African weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille)

Tropical Forests and Their Species Going, Going … ?

* Foreword by E. O. Wilson * Acknowledgments I. Transitions in Social Evolution Introduction by Jurgen Gadau * The Evolution of Social Insect Mating Systems Jacobus J. Boomsma, Daniel J. C. Kronauer, and Jes S. Pedersen * The Evolution of Queen Numbers in Ants: From One to Many and Back Jurgen Heinze and Susanne Foitzik * Aging of Social Insects Olav Rueppell * The Ecological Setting of Social Evolution: The Demography of Ant Populations Blaine J. Cole * Control of Termite Caste Differentiation Colin S. Brent * Termites: An Alternative Road to Eusociality and the Importance of Group Benefits in Social Insects Judith Korb * The Evolution of Communal Behavior in Bees and Wasps: An Alternative to Eusociality William T. Wcislo and Simon M. Tierney II. Communication Introduction by Tomas D. Seeley * Cue Diversity and Social Recognition Michael D. Breed and Robert Buchwald * Adaptations in the Olfactory System of Social Hymenoptera Christoph J. Kleineidam and Wolfgang Rossler * Fertility Signaling as a General Mechanism of Regulating Reproductive Division of Labor in Ants Christian Peeters and Jurgen Liebig * Vibrational Signals in Social Wasps: A Role in Caste Determination? Robert L. Jeanne * Convergent Evolution of Food Recruitment Mechanism in Bees and Wasps James C. Nieh * The Organization of Social Foraging in Ants: Energetics and Communication Flavio Roces III. Neurogenetic Basis of Social Behavior Introduction by Robert E. Page Jr. * Behavioral Genetics in Social Insects Greg J. Hunt and Jurgen Gadau * Sensory Thresholds, Learning, and the Division of Foraging Labor in the Honeybee Ricarda Scheiner and Joachim Erber * Social Life from Solitary Regulatory Networks: A Paradigm for Insect Sociality Robert E. Page Jr., Timothy A. Linksvayer, and Gro V. Amdam * Social Brains and Behavior, Past and Present Wulfila Gronenberg and Andre J. Riveros * Plasticity in the Circadian Clock and the Temporal Organization of Insect Societies Guy Bloch IV. Theoretical Perspectives on Social Organization Introduction by Jennifer Fewell * The Dawn of a Golden Age in Mathematical Insect Sociobiology Nigel R. Franks, Anna Dornhaus, James A.oR. Marshall, and Francois-Xavier Dechaume Moncharmont * Positive Feedback, Convergent Collective Patterns, and Social Transitions in Arthropods Raphael Jeanson and Jean-Louis Deneubourg * Division of Labor in the Context of Complexity Jennifer Fewell, Shana K. Schmidt, and Thomas Taylor * Insect Societies as Models for Collective Decision-Making Stephen Pratt * From Social Behavior to Molecules: Models and Modules in the Middle Gene E. Robinson and Andrew B. Barron * Social Insects as Models in Epidemiology: Establishing the Foundation for an Interdisciplinary Approach to Disease and Sociality Nina H. Fefferman and James F.oA. Traniello * Social Insects and the Individuality Thesis: Cohesion and the Colony as a Selectable Individual Andrew Hamilton, Nathan R. Smith, and Matthew H. Haber * Social Insects, Evo-Devo, and the Novelty Problem: The Advantage of "Natural Experiments" Sensu Boveri Jurgen Gadau and Manfred Laubichler * Index

Edward O. Wilson

Papers

The alarm-defence system of the ant Acanthomyops claviger

Source and Possible Nature of the Odor Trail of Fire Ants

Colony-specific territorial pheromone in the African weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille)

Tropical Forests and Their Species Going, Going … ?

Organization of Insect Societies: From Genome to Sociocomplexity