Many of the basic probability kernels associated with population dispersal
find their basis in partial differential equations. For example, the normal
distribution is associated withthe diffusion equation
Now, suppose a population of organisms is dispersed over space with an initial
density of . One can think of the number of individuals located in a
small interval of size at a location as . These
indidviduals disperse randomly according to the distribution ; thus,
their probabilistic location at a later time will be
The Fourier Transform of a function defined on an interval from
to is
The numerical (or Discrete) Fourier Transform (DFT) is defined with summations
instead of integrals,
We can use FFTs in MATLAB to calculate convolutions rapidly. Let's begin by illustrating the procedure for a population initially localized uniformly between -1 and 1, dispersing over time into a much larger domain. The FFT assumes periodicity, so if we define a space interval between -10 and 10 with 256 nodes (remember the FFT is much more efficient for computations involving elements), we need to take into account that the node corresponding to 10 must be left off (the FFT assumes that whatever data might be specified there is identical with the data at ). So, to define this space:
xlr=10; np=256; dx=2*xlr/np; x=dx*[0:np-1]-xlr; % OR, equivalently x=linspace(-xlr,xlr-dx,np);The independent variable is now defined. Let's also define the normal dispersal kernel and the initial population:
p0 = (abs(x) <= 1); t=1; D=1; K=1/sqrt(4*pi*D*t)*exp(-x.^2/(4*D*t));Having the relevant functions defined we can now take the Fourier transform
fp0=fft(p0); fK=fft(K);Using the fact that the transform of the convolution is the product of the transforms, we can now evaluate the convolution:
fp1=fK.*fp0; p1=dx*fftshift( ifft( fp1 ) );
The vector p1 now contains the dispersed population after 1 time unit, but there are some weird things in the command that need explaining. First off, the command fftshift basically chops a vector in half and interchanges the first and second halves as blocks. In this context it is necessary because the MATLAB FFT is built on the assumption that functions are defined on the interval from 0 to 1, as opposed to centered around 0. Secondly, the factor of dx. Firstly, for numerical efficiency the FFT multiplies a vector by np, and the inverse FFT divides by that factor. Since we have implemented a product of FFTs, we need to divide out a factor of np. Secondly, numerical FFTs assume that functions are defined on an interval of length 1, but our function is defined on an interval of length 2*xlr, and so the FFT must be scaled by the interval length. Together, these two conditions are equivalent to multiplying by the step size, dx=2*xlr/np, which is convenient from our perspective.
Now let's see what we have done:
plot(x,p0,'r',x,p1,'y')You should also get a warning about imaginary numbers being ignored. This occurs because the FFT requires complex numbers, and numerical rounding creates very small imaginary components, even for perfectly real data fields. The best way to get around this is to take the real part after convolution, which we will do in the future. Now it is possible to keep iterating the random dispersal of the population. We can get the population after the next time step using a single long, cryptic MATLAB command:
p2=dx*real( fftshift( ifft( fft( p1 ).*fK ) ) );Use hold on to plot this against the previous results. Does it look reasonable? Use the up-arrow () and edit the previous command, plot, and see the population after dispersal over three time units.
EXERCISE 6: Use MATLAB to define the population density function
Another interesting dispersal model involves assuming random motion for
propagules (seeds, spores, pollen, motile larvae) while they are in the medium and then
settling onto a substrate at some rate . If propagules are initially
released at the point the PDE modelling the density of propagules in the
medium is
D=1; a=2; KS=sqrt(.25*a/D)*exp(-sqrt(a/D)*abs(x)); plot(x,KS,'r')Now try plotting KS on the same axes, varying the settling rate, , to get an idea of how it behaves.
EXERCISE 7: For a uniform distribution of sources between -1 and 1 investigate the dispersal of propagules according to the probability distribution given above. On the same set of axes plot the effect of changing on the dispersal of the population.
A model for ballistic dispersal of spores from ground level in random
directions is given by Neubert, Kot and Lewis, 1995, by
We could illustrate the spread of the colony using the commands we have already mastered in MATLAB , but this is a good place to use an `m' file, which is a MATLAB script which runs a sequence of commands. In the File menu of the MATLAB command window click on New and then M-file. An editor/debugger window will pop up, in which you can type in a series of commands, save it as an M-file, and then execute the whole sequence by referring to the M-file. Below appears the text for an M-file modelling this dispersal.
% % BALLSPORE % % a Matlab M-file which models ballistic dispersal of fungi in 1-D % pold = pnew; % define initial condition, this step -- % USER MUST DEFINE THE FIRST pnew % BEFORE RUNNING THIS PROGRAM KB=1./(pi*sqrt(c^4/g^2-x.^2)).*(abs(x) <= c^2/g); % define dispersal kernel, taking care that it is zero in % the right places KB=KB/trapz(dx*KB); % this normalizes the probability kernel. Because of % the singularities at the ends this is an important % step -- otherwise there will be net loss fKB=dx*fft(KB); % Take FFT of dispersal kernel, multiplying by dx to save % that step later fpnew = fKB.*fft(pold); % FFT of new dispersed population pnew = real(fftshift(ifft(fpnew))); % new dispersed population hold on, plot(x,pnew,'r'), hold off % plot results on current figureWhen you have this all typed in to the editor, save the file as ballspore.m and click on the command window to activate it. Make sure that the directory you are in in the command window is the same as the directory you save the program ballspore.m in! Now we must set the initial space up, the parameters, and the initial colony:
g=980; % cm/s^2 for gravity constant c=50; % cm/s speed of ejection xlr=15; np=256; dx=2*xlr/np; x=-xlr+dx*[0:np-1]; % define independent variable pnew=(abs(x) <= 1);Now we can plot the initial population and call ballspore, which will plot subsequent dispersed populations on the same graph. So, in the command window type:
plot(x,pnew,'y') ballsporeNow, you can see the evolution of the dispersing population by using to bring back the ballspore command and then carriage return to execute the command.
If propagules (density ) move at constant speed to the left and right away
from a source and settle at some rate , the precipitated individuals
(density ) satisfy the following system of PDE (from Neubert et. al.,
1995):
EXERCISE 8: Under the assumption that every settled propagule becomes a propagule-producing adult, write an M-file in MATLAB that will allow you to investigate the multi-generational dispersal of an initially-localized population with dispersal probability given by . How would you modify this code to reflect mortality or non-germination - say only 50% of dispersed individuals survive to become adults? Could you modify it to have more than one generation producing propagules?
Now we have more than enough understanding to move on to two-dimensional dispersal. Mainly there is nothing more complicated than in one dimension, except that it can be computationally much more time consuming and more difficult to visualize. But the computational techniques are identical in MATLAB , except that a few commands (mainly the FFT commands) need to be changed to 2-D versions.
As in the case of one dimensional random dispersal, dispersal generated by random walks in two dimensions is modelled by the diffusion equation,
xlr=10; ylr=10; np=128; dx=2*xlr/np; dy=2*ylr/np; x=linspace(-xlr,xlr-dx,np); y=linspace(-ylr,ylr-dy,np); [X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y); t=1; D=1; K2D=1/(4*pi*D*t)*exp(-(X.^2+Y.^2)./(4*D*t));You may wish to take a second and visualize this using surf or pcolor and shading flat or shading interp. Now, to see how a population initially localized in the rectangle disperses, use:
p0=(abs(X)<=3 & abs(Y)<= 1); fp0=fft2(p0); fK2D=dx*dy*fft2(K2D); fp1=fp0.*fK2D; p1=real( fftshift( ifft2( fp1 ) ) );Some things to observe: the overall format for implementing dispersal is the same as in one dimension, with the exceptions that fft and ifft are replaced by fft2 and ifft2; there is now a multiplication by both dx and dy to implement the convolution. To visualize how the initial field relates to the dispersed field we will use a combination of graphics - one choice would be contours for the initial field and density plots for the dispersed field, as in:
pcolor(X,Y,p1),shading flat, hold on, contour(X,Y,p0,'m'), hold offYou may want to further use the options axis square and colormap hot. The hot colormap, in particular, is useful in interpreting density plots, since it gives a clear indication of high and low values. To see which colors correspond to which values, you may also use the command colorbar, which will add a color scale with associated scalar values. You might also want to try a combination surface/contour plot, as in
surf(X,Y,p1+1),shading flat, hold on, contour(X,Y,p0,'m'), hold offFor most applications I find it easiest to use combinations of density and contour plots.
EXERCISE 9: Disperse this population for one more time step, saving p1 and creating a new, twice-dispersed population, p2. Plot all three populations on a single graph using contours in two different colors for p0 and p1 and a hot-colored density plot for p2. Use the combination of commands dx*dy*trapz(trapz(p2)) to estimate the double integral of p2, and then compare that to the previous two dispersal slices to make sure that the population is being conserved.
Well, there were many, many different things to do in one dimension, and as
you might guess there are infinitely many more in two dimensions. We will discover
more of these as we go along, but as a parting shot let's model a combination
of advection and diffusion in two dimensions. Suppose a population is
performing random walks in a medium which moves in a particular direction with
velocities and in the and directions, respectively.
Without belaboring the details,
it can be shown that an individual initially localized at the origin disperses
with probability
EXERCISE 10: Investigate the advective/diffusive dispersal of a population which is initially localized, according to the probability kernel . Pick , , and use the command
p0=(abs(X+8)<=.5 & abs(Y+8)<=.5);to specify the initial population. Define the dispersal kernel in MATLAB using the previous grid, and using a sequence of commands on a single line disperse this population over one unit of time. Using a combination of contours and density plots show the population's progress over three time units of dispersal. (Alternatively, you may want to write a single M-file to do this.)
EXERCISE 11: Build an M-file which will allow you to investigate the behavior of a population in an advection/diffusion setting with random winds. That is, over each period of dispersal (`day') the wind speed is constant, but from day to day the direction will vary randomly. Hint: In MATLAB the command for generating uniformly distributed random numbers is rand. Visualize a couple of dispersal steps for a population localized initially uniformly in a disk of radius 1 centered at (0,0). Would it be hard to modify your program to account for random changes in wind speed as well?
Another characteristic of moving, living things is that they move for a
reason, generally to get somewhere or avoid something. An example would be
predators or parasites searching for prey/hosts. Even the simplest of beings
is likely to slow down, that is, to take shorter steps in its random searching
motions, when it is in the presence of prey items. Let be the
density of `victims' in space, and let be the density of searchers
(predators/parasites). Let be the diffusivity of in the absence of
victims and the diffusivity in the presence of victims. Varying
motility of the searcher can be modelled (following Turchin, Reeve,
Cronin and Wilkens, 1997) by
This solution becomes increasingly valid as tends to zero (or as the diffusivities become more alike), and depends critically on being `large'. The solution is not valid at all for very large or highly variable densities of prey, or when is small, or when is taken to be large. Fortunately, solving PDE is not our best and highest goal. As a model for victim-taxis, the approximation above can serve perfectly well! We must separate the elements which give the random character of diffusivity from the elements defining the spatial structure of changing motility in the presence of prey. The approach will be to:
% % Testing out Turchin-taxis % % Set up space: % np=128; xl=10; dx=2*xl/np; x=linspace(-xl,xl-dx,np); [X,Y]=meshgrid(x,x); % Define parameters D2=2; D1=1.5; % the motilities d=1; t=4; % saturation parameter, time V=exp(-(X-5).^2./4-(Y-5).^2); % these are the victims: % perturbation to the basic motility (D2): muhat=4*del2((D2-D1)*(D2*V)./(d*D1+ D2*V) ,dx,dx); % Set initial population of predators P=((X.^2+Y.^2)<=4); numP=dx^2*trapz(trapz(P)); % total number predators % Define dispersal kernel K=.25/(pi*D2*t)*exp(-(X.^2+Y.^2)/(4*D2*t)); fK=dx.^2*fft2(K); % Disperse population according to turchin-taxis fP=fft2(P); Pt=exp(-muhat*t).*real(fftshift(ifft2(fP.*fK))); % Normalize the dispersed population numPt=dx^2*trapz(trapz(Pt)); Pt=numP/numPt*Pt; % Plot the results in comparison with the victims pcolor(X,Y,Pt), shading interp, colormap hot, axis square hold on, contour(X,Y,V,'b'), hold offOne difficulty with this sort of approach is that it is not `linear' in , the time step. That is, taking ten steps with will be different than taking five steps with or two steps with . In general, the approach gets more linear-acting for shorter steps (which is just where one does not wish to use it for an IDE approach). However, it is only a model for chemotaxis, no more or less valid in an absolute sense than the PDE model appearing in the paper of Turchin et. al. (1997). It is important, though, to remember that there is now an extra `parameter', , which must be specified.
EXERCISE 12: With the above MATLAB code for defining a prey-tactic dispersal kernel, determine how a population of predators, initially localized near , redistributes in response to the population of victims given above. In two different figures plot the density response of the predators as a density field after 4 and 8 time units of dispersal. Indicate the starting point, and plot contours of the victim field to see how the taxis orients the population. Check to see that the number of searching individuals is being preserved. Can you explain these results in terms of decreased motility in the presence of they prey?
Congratulations! You have learned more about probabilistic dispersal and convolutions in MATLAB than most people are learn in a life time!