an updated algorithm for the generation of neutral landscapes by spectral synthesis更新算法生成谱合成的中立的风景.pdfVIP

An Updated Algorithm for the Generation of Neutral Landscapes by Spectral Synthesis 1,2 2 1,3 Joseph D. Chipperfield *, Calvin Dytham , Thomas Hovestadt ¨ ¨ 1 Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Universitat Wurzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany, 2 Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom, ´ 3 Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Brunoy, France Abstract Background: Patterns that arise from an ecological process can be driven as much from the landscape over which the process is run as it is by some intrinsic properties of the process itself. The disentanglement of these effects is aided if it possible to run models of the process over artificial landscapes with controllable spatial properties. A number of different methods for the generation of so-called ‘neutral landscapes’ have been developed to provide just such a tool. Of these methods, a particular class that simulate fractional Brownian motion have shown particular promise. The existing methods of simulating fractional Brownian motion suffer from a number of problems however: they are often not easily generalisable to an arbitrary number of dimensions and produce outputs that can exhibit some undesirable artefacts. Methodology: We describe here an updated algorithm for the generation of neutral landscapes by fractional Brownian motion that do not display such undesirable properties. Using Monte Carlo simulation we assess the anisotropic properties of landscapes generated using the new algorithm described in this paper and compare it against a popular benchmark algorithm. Conclusion/Significance: The results show that the existing algorithm creates landscapes with values strongly co