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

Edward O. Wilson has distilled sixty years of teaching into a book for students, young and old. Reflecting on his coming-of-age in the South as a Boy Scout and a lover of ants and butterflies, Wilson threads these twenty-one letters, each richly illustrated, with autobiographical anecdotes that illuminate his career-both his successes and his failures-and his motivations for becoming a biologist. At a time in human history when our survival is more than ever linked to our understanding of science, Wilson insists that success in the sciences does not depend on mathematical skill, but rather a passion for finding a problem and solving it. From the collapse of stars to the exploration of rain forests and the oceans' depths, Wilson instills a love of the innate creativity of science and a respect for the human being's modest place in the planet's ecosystem in his readers.

Letters to a Young Scientist

Trail sharing is a rare event in ants. Of two previously described cases, .o.ne is interpreted as part o.f a relationship that is either mutualistic or weakly parasitic, probably the former, and the other as part of a weakly parasitic relationship. A third, new case has been discovered which appears to be commensalistic. On Trinidad, West Indies, workers of the rather scarce formicine Camponotus beebei utilize the arboreal odor trails of the abundant dolichoderine, Azteca chartifex. The Camponotus \"borrow\" the latter’s trails during the day, when Azteca foraging is at a low ebb. The Camponot,us workers are treated hostilely by the. Azteca workers but are too swift and agile to be caught; their presence does not disturb the Azteca seriously. On a single occasion Camponotus workers were observed to. lay their own private recruitment odor trail on top of the Azteca trails. The Camponotus trail lasted for about fifteen minutes and had no visible effect on the. Azteca.

/pdf/trail-sharing-in-ants-8z9rv4j5xo.pdf

Trail sharing in ants

1.

Eurhopalothrix heliscata n. sp. is an Asiatic representative of the little known ant tribe Basicerotini and the first member of the group to be studied intensively. We report evidence that it preys on a variety of termites, but also takes at least some other kinds of insects. Overall, the social behavior is simple relative to that of many other myrmicine ants.




2.

Prey are hunted and retrieved singly. But foraging workers are also able to recruit nestmates to the vicinity of groups of prey and as a result accelerate retrieval of termites to the brood chambers. A prolonged exploration of the surrounding area also ensues.




3.

With the aid of chemical cues, workers are able to recognize material from the vicinity of their nest.




4.

The workers are notably thigmotactic. They use their wedge-shaped heads, hard bodies, and short legs to press into tight spaces. They seize the appendages of termites with their short, sharp-toothed mandibles, clasping these body parts of the prey even more tightly with the aid of their projecting, heavily sclerotized labra.




5.

E. heliscata tend to gather in large, broodless groups away from the main part of the colony. This bivouacing behavior, which effectively dispenses the foragers over a wider area, may improve the efficiency of the predation on termites.




6.

The workers appear not to practice food exchange, worker oviposition, or alarmdefense behavior, nor do they recruit during colony emigration.




7.

Prolonged fighting and dominance-subordinance relations among queens have been observed under laboratory conditions.




8.

Other details of nesting behavior and social interactions are described (see,e.g., table I).

/pdf/behavior-of-the-cryptobiotic-predaceous-ant-eurhopalothrix-4ffzt1sjtg.pdf

Behavior of the cryptobiotic predaceous ant Eurhopalothrix heliscata, n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Basicerotini)

/pdf/ants-of-the-dominican-amber-hymenoptera-formicidae-3-the-4egmxm3iaz.pdf

Edward O. Wilson

Papers

Letters to a Young Scientist

Trail sharing in ants

Behavior of the cryptobiotic predaceous ant Eurhopalothrix heliscata, n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Basicerotini)

Ants of the Dominican amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). 3. The subfamily Dolichoderinae.

The Fire Ant