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Ecological modelling: The mathematical mirror to animal nature

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Animal behaviour is an endless challenge to mathematical modellers. In this, the first of two features, Mark Buchanan looks at how a mathematical principle from physics might be able to explain patterns of movement. In the second, Arran Frood asks what current models can teach us about ecological networks half a billion years old.

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See Editorial, page 698 , and News Feature, page 717 .

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British Antarctic Survey

Dave Sims

Center for Complex Network Research

Mark Buchanan

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Buchanan, M. Ecological modelling: The mathematical mirror to animal nature. Nature 453, 714–716 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/453714a

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