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 fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima (Fr. Smith), utilizes a trail substance as an aid in effective foraging1. Workers secrete a substance from the Dufour's gland which is deposited from the sting in the form of minute streaks. These mark a trail from a suitable food source to the nest. Workers are strongly attracted to this substance and follow the trail outward to the food source. The newly recruited workers in turn lay trails to the nest, reinforcing the original trail. The appropriate properties for effective trail substances have been discussed by Bossert and Wilson2.

Purification of the Fire Ant Trail Substance

Intensive Technology in the Care of Ex Situ Populations of Vanishing Species

/pdf/ants-of-the-dominican-amber-hymenoptera-formicidae-1-two-new-470zwbyty5.pdf

Ants of the dominican amber (hymenoptera: formicidae). 1. two new myrmicine genera and an aberrant pheidole

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/1985/063693.pdf

Ants of the Dominican amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). 2. The first fossil army ants.

Scientific natural history, which addresses all biological aspects of individual species, one species at a time, then compares many together, is as important to science as any of the umbrella biological disciplines. With most species yet undiscovered and the vast majority of those known yet unstudied, most biological phenomena are probably also unknown and unimagined. Closing this gap calls for a renewed emphasis on the disciplines of the taxonomic -ologies, treating each species as an evolutionary epic, summoning information from all of the umbrella disciplines. We argue from the example of the once-obscure red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, whose economic importance made it a model species for research on the superorganism, offering excellent opportunities for addressing many profound questions about superorganism organization, function, development, and ecology. Had scientific natural history been properly emphasized in recent research, theory testing in areas such as competition and kin-based selection would not have led to decades of distraction.

/pdf/scientific-natural-history-telling-the-epics-of-nature-4y0m4rh9ky.pdf

Edward O. Wilson

Papers

Purification of the Fire Ant Trail Substance

Intensive Technology in the Care of Ex Situ Populations of Vanishing Species

Ants of the dominican amber (hymenoptera: formicidae). 1. two new myrmicine genera and an aberrant pheidole

Ants of the Dominican amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). 2. The first fossil army ants.

Scientific Natural History: Telling the Epics of Nature