Parry, H.R. and Evans, A.J. (2008) A comparative analysis of parallel processing and super-individual methods for improving the computational performance of a large individual-based model. Ecological Modelling, 214 (2-4). pp. 141-152. ISSN 0304-3800
Abstract
Individual-based modelling approaches are being used to simulate larger complex spatial systems in ecology and in other fields of research. Several novel model development issues now face researchers: in particular how to simulate large numbers of individuals with high levels of complexity, given finite computing resources. A case study of a spatially-explicit simulation of aphid population dynamics was used to assess two strategies for coping with a large number of individuals: the use of ‘super-individuals’ and parallel computing. Parallelisation of the model maintained the model structure and thus the simulation results were comparable to the original model. However, the super-individual implementation of the model caused significant changes to the model dynamics, both spatially and temporally. When super-individuals represented more than around 10 individuals it became evident that aggregate statistics generated from a super-individual model can hide more detailed deviations from an individual-level model. Improvements in memory use and model speed were perceived with both approaches. For the parallel approach, significant speed-up was only achieved when more than five processors were used and memory availability was only increased once five or more processors were used. The super-individual approach has potential to improve model speed and memory use dramatically, however this paper cautions the use of this approach for a density-dependent spatially-explicit model, unless individual variability is better taken into account.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2008 Elsevier Science BV. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Ecological Modelling. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Sherpa Assistant |
Date Deposited: | 08 Aug 2008 13:26 |
Last Modified: | 16 Sep 2016 13:36 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2008.02.002 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier B.V. |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2008.02.002 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:4129 |