BES Facebook groupComputational Ecology
Secretary: David Murrell
At the 2007 BES Annual Meeting in Glasgow, I hesitantly organised a breakout session to explore the potential interest in a specialist group within the framework of the BES dedicated to computational ecology (mathematical/computer/statistical modelling). Much to my surprise we had an excellent turn out and it was quickly apparent that the BES membership was keen on forming such a group. On the back of this the BES has kindly agreed to help support the newly formed Computational Ecology Group.
Aims
The aims of the group are quite broad and we hope it will appeal to a wide range of BES members. We are currently at the start of a computational revolution in ecology, thanks largely to the rapid increase in speed of computer processors. This has led to a proliferation of sophisticated techniques to include more biological detail in theoretical models and to deal with the large number of detailed datasets that are currently being collected. Consequently we now stand at the point where large datasets can be used to fit sophisticated models to allow a deeper understanding of the processes that shape and maintain ecosystems and therefore allow ecology to become a more predictive science. The group will hopefully make some steps forward in broadcasting what the key assumptions of ecological theories are and what is required to test them; but also what computational techniques are available in order to test the theory and describe the populations, communities and ecosystems under scrutiny.
Activities
Thanks to the BES the group should be able to get off to a flying start at the 2008 Annual Meeting in Imperial College London. The group were involved with two events; the first was Ecological Speed Dating and the second event was a workshop. The Ecological Speed Dating got the Annual Meeting off to a flying start. The idea is that those who concentrate more on computational techniques (e.g. mathematical modelling; statistical modelling) will form one group; and those who hold datasets (of any taxonomic group) will form another group. Then, depending on how popular the event is, each ‘modeller’ will spend a few minutes talking to each ‘empiricist’ with the aim that both parities will be able to define the sorts of questions they are interested in answering; what potential information is in the data and the techniques that are on offer to test the theory or answer the ecological question. The worst that can happen is that it ends up being a bit of fun, and there is always the outside chance that some new collaborations/ideas will be generated.
The workshop was based on the idea of ‘Preconceptions; misconceptions and advances in ecological theory’, and was split into three different ecological themes. Each theme had one talk to explore some of the finer points of theory; a talk that focuses on some new statistical approaches that are suitable for testing the theory; and a talk with a more experimental/field based emphasis which will highlight where theory needs to be directed. The overarching aim was to explore where theory and empirical studies are currently diverging and where they are converging. More details of the workshop will feature in future editions of the Bulletin.
The group has already attracted some interest from outside of the BES and I am pleased to announce that all members of the group will be eligible for a discounted yearly subscription to the new journal Theoretical Ecology which has Alan Hastings as its editor. This journal is in its first year and at the moment all articles can be viewed freely online, but next year members of the Computational Ecology group can enjoy full online access for just US$26. More details about this offer will be revealed later this year.
The Ecological Society of America has its own Theoretical Ecology group and I am hoping that the Computational Ecology group will be able to have close ties with its American cousins and share online resources. However, I see no reason why we cannot extend this to other groups in other societies both within the UK and beyond, so if there are any BES members who are also members of other societies that fit within the framework of the Computational Ecology Specialist Group then I urge them to contact me on the email address given below.
I sincerely hope that the Computational Ecology group will become both popular and useful to the members of the BES, and it is my aim for it to expand beyond the events discussed above. This means that it needs YOUR input, as I see the group working best if it is driven from the bottom up rather than from the top down. So if you have any ideas that you would like to see explored/introduced to the group, or if you feel as though you would like to join the group then please do not hesitate to contact me on my email.
