Mathematical Models Relating Effects of Xenobiotic Substances on Individuals and Populations

Abstract

LONG TERM GOALS. The research involves the development of mathematical models suitable for relating the effects of xenobiotic substances on individuals and populations of benthic marine organisms. This goal recognizes that the ecological effects of contaminants occur within complex ecological communities, but that the response of the constituent populations to environmental stress is difficult and/or very expensive to measure. Thus it is important to extract as much insight as possible from the large body of experimental information quantifying the impact of toxicants on the individual organisms within impacted, or potentially impacted populations. OBJECTIVES. The research has two main parts: (i) modeling the consequences for individuals of toxicant-induced changes in the rates of energy acquisition and utilization by individual organisms, and (ii) using individual-based population models to predict the implications of these changes on the abundance and spatial distribution of organisms.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 1997
Accession Number
ADA635054

Entities

People

  • Roger M. Nisbet
  • Russell J. Schmitt
  • William G. Wilson

Organizations

  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agent-Based Simulations
  • Aquatic Organisms
  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Biology
  • California
  • Competition
  • Cyclic Hydrocarbons
  • Ecology
  • Electronic Mail
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Marine Biology
  • Mathematical Models
  • Models
  • Oceanography
  • Spatial Distribution
  • Toxicity
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Systems Analysis and Design