Comparative Dynamics (comparative + dynamics)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Comparative dynamics of avian communities across edges and interiors of North American ecoregions

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2006
Krithi K. Karanth
Abstract Aim, Based on a priori hypotheses, we developed predictions about how avian communities might differ at the edges vs. interiors of ecoregions. Specifically, we predicted lower species richness and greater local turnover and extinction probabilities for regional edges. We tested these predictions using North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data across nine ecoregions over a 20-year time period. Location, Data from 2238 BBS routes within nine ecoregions of the United States were used. Methods, The estimation methods used accounted for species detection probabilities < 1. Parameter estimates for species richness, local turnover and extinction probabilities were obtained using the program COMDYN. We examined the difference in community-level parameters estimated from within exterior edges (the habitat interface between ecoregions), interior edges (the habitat interface between two bird conservation regions within the same ecoregion) and interior (habitat excluding interfaces). General linear models were constructed to examine sources of variation in community parameters for five ecoregions (containing all three habitat types) and all nine ecoregions (containing two habitat types). Results, Analyses provided evidence that interior habitats and interior edges had on average higher bird species richness than exterior edges, providing some evidence of reduced species richness near habitat edges. Lower average extinction probabilities and turnover rates in interior habitats (five-region analysis) provided some support for our predictions about these quantities. However, analyses directed at all three response variables, i.e. species richness, local turnover, and local extinction probability, provided evidence of an interaction between habitat and region, indicating that the relationships did not hold in all regions. Main conclusions, The overall predictions of lower species richness, higher local turnover and extinction probabilities in regional edge habitats, as opposed to interior habitats, were generally supported. However, these predicted tendencies did not hold in all regions. [source]


Comparative dynamics of gestalt odour formation in two ant species Camponotus fellah and Aphaenogaster senilis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
Alain Lenoir
Abstract. Ant colonies experience continuous shifts in worker populations, which may affect odour composition in the nest. A major question regarding the dynamics of gestalt formation is that of the speed at which the scent of a new individual will be incorporated into the gestalt. It is predicted from the gestalt model of colony odour that workers have to exchange recognition cues continuously to maintain themselves within the gestalt and become well integrated within their colony. Using radioactive tracers the rates of transfer were measured between a labelled donor ant and one or 10 recipient ants, as a close approximation to the within-nest situation. The labelled hydrocarbons were first transferred to a small number of individuals and progressively to all the individuals of the group so that the distribution of hydrocarbon transfer rate approached a normal distribution. Furthermore, in Camponotus fellah Dalla Torre, which performs trophallaxis, homogeneity was reached more rapidly than in Aphaenogaster senilis Mayr, which does not show this behaviour. In the latter species, the gestalt seems to be maintained mainly by allogrooming. These experiments were accompanied by behavioural observations to ascertain the respective importance of trophallaxis and allogrooming in the behavioural time-budget of the ants. In A. senilis, allogrooming was more frequent than in ants that trophallax, which corroborates the role of allogrooming in the establishment of the gestalt in this species. [source]


The E-Correspondence Principle

ECONOMICA, Issue 293 2007
GEORGE W. EVANS
We present a new application of Samuelson's Correspondence Principle to the analysis of comparative dynamics in stochastic rational expectations models. Our version, which we call the E-correspondence principle, applies to rational expectations equilibria that are stable under least squares and closely related learning rules. With this technique it is sometimes possible to study, without explicitly solving for the equilibrium, how qualitative properties of the equilibrium are affected by changes in the model parameters. Applications to overlapping generations and New Keynesian models illustrate the potential of the technique. [source]


Equilibrium in a Dynamic Limit Order Market

THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 5 2005
RONALD L. GOETTLER
ABSTRACT We model a dynamic limit order market as a stochastic sequential game with rational traders. Since the model is analytically intractable, we provide an algorithm based on Pakes and McGuire (2001) to find a stationary Markov-perfect equilibrium. We then generate artificial time series and perform comparative dynamics. Conditional on a transaction, the midpoint of the quoted prices is not a good proxy for the true value. Further, transaction costs paid by market order submitters are negative on average, and negatively correlated with the effective spread. Reducing the tick size is not Pareto improving but increases total investor surplus. [source]