Application of ecological models to conservation and management issues:
I have extensively used ecological models to support conservation and management of ecological systems through many applied research projects. During my early research work, I used physical habitat simulation systems to quantify the stream carrying capacity of trout populations in order to estimate their conservation status and its determinants (e.g., Ayllón et al. 2012). Since 2013, I have been developing and using a series of mechanistic models to address conservation and management issues for a wide range of taxa. Since for most ecological applications, individual-level aspects are critical to understand system-level properties, I develop and use individual-based models to answer questions such as: What are the demographic and evolutionary consequences of environmental changes on resident (Ayllón et al. 2016, 2019) or facultatively migratory (Kane at al. 2022) fish populations? What are the demo-genetic impacts of disrupted river connectivity on migratory fish (Baggio et al. 2018)? How does legal and illegal harvest affect fish population eco-evolutionary dynamics (Ayllón et al. 2018, 2021a) or functioning of plant-mammal systems (Fedriani et al. 2020)? What are the optimal landscape restoration strategies to enhance frog breeding habitats (Dick and Ayllón et al. 2017) or plant recolonization of abandoned agricultural fields (Fedriani et al. 2018)?
Development of ecological theory:
Individual-based models can be used as virtual ecosystems for testing and developing ecological theory, especially theory for the processes driving adaptive decisions of individuals in specific contexts, such as foraging and movement decisions (Chudzinska et al. 2016, Liukkonen et al. 2018, Railsback et al. 2020).
Development of concepts and methods to design and implement ecological models:
I am interested in helping develop and promote standard concepts and strategies for the design, implementation and communication of ecological models in general, and individual-based models in particular (Grimm et al. 2017, 2020, Railsback et al. 2017, Ayllón et al. 2021b).
Daniel Ayllón 