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Examining refuge location mechanisms in intertidal snails using artificial life simulation techniques

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Richard Stafford

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Abstract

High intertidal rocky shores are extremely stressful habitats. Marine snails in these habitats experience highly desiccating conditions, and they locate refuges such as crevices and form dense aggregations of individuals to reduce the effects of desiccation. This study investigates the mechanisms of refuge location in Melarhaphe neritoides using a simple set of rules to mimic the behaviour of each individual snail as a computer simulation. Chance interactions with other individuals, other individuals' trails and the crevices which form part of the virtual environment result in a mainly self-organised pattern of aggregations and crevice occupation which match real patterns obtained in laboratory experiments. Simulations where the following of trails is removed result in a poorer match to the experimental data, indicating the importance of trail-following in establishing these distribution patterns. The study shows that artificial life based models are a potentially useful tool in the investigation of rocky shore systems.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Stafford R, Davies MS

Editor(s): Capcarrere, M., Freitas, A.A., Bentley, P.J., Johnson, C.G., Timmis, J.

Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

Publication status: Published

Conference Name: Advances in Artificial Life: 8th European Conference on Artificial Life

Year of Conference: 2005

Pages: 520-529

ISSN: 0302-9743 (Print) 1611-3349 (Online)

Publisher: Springer

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/11553090_53

DOI: 10.1007/11553090_53

Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item

Series Title: Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence

ISBN: 9783540288480


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