Graduation Term
2015
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Department of Mathematics
Committee Chair
Olcay Akman
Abstract
Reproductive skew is the name given to the unequal partitioning of breeding
within social groups. Within these groups a mating hierarchy emerges wherein one dominant mating pair holds an unproportional majority of the group's reproductive benefit, while other members mate infrequently, yet allocate energy and resources toward the offspring of the dominant group members. In this paper, we use an agent-based model, which mimics dwarf and banded mongoose populations, to investigate how reproductive skew aftects the speed natural selection, and thus how reproductive skew affects fitness. The results of the model show that due to the geometric structure of skewed breeding colonies, reproductive skew does increase the rate of natural selection. This result is consistent with the constructal law theory. Our results shed some light on skew theory and additionally have possible implications in conservation biology and artificial intelligence, through the genetic algorithm.
Access Type
Thesis-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Mowry, Stacy Lee, "Using an Agent-Based Model To Study the Effect of Reproductive Skew on Mongoose Populations" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 470.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/470
DOI
http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2015.Mowry.S