An Ecosystem Model with Evolutionary Adaptive Trophic Structure

The contemporary view is that the interactions between life and the environment are bidirectional: the environment creates life and life creates the environment. However, most ecosystem models have an inbuilt rigidity such that the degrees to which they can mimic structural change in response to environmental cues is very limited.

In an effort to capture the plasticity of life we present a new theoretical individual-based ecosystem model in the context of previous classical and experimental modelling approaches. The aim is to develop a deeper understanding of the factors determining trophic structure. The individual-based approach permits the inclusion of traits to model heritable attributes.