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Santa Fe Institute

US

5 researchers0 verified3 linked papers9,024 indexed citations

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1997 · Science · 5,048 citations

A General Model for the Origin of Allometric Scaling Laws in Biology

Allometric scaling relations, including the 3/4 power law for metabolic rates, are characteristic of all organisms and are here derived from a general model that describes how essential materials are transported through space-filling fractal networks of branching tubes. The model assumes that the energy dissipated is minimized and that the terminal tubes do not vary with body size. It provides a complete analysis of scaling relations for mammalian circulatory systems that are in agreement with data. More generally, the model predicts structural and functional properties of vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, plant vascular systems, insect tracheal tubes, and other distribution networks.

1999 · 3,199 citations

Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics

Abstract This book provides an introduction to Monte Carlo simulations in classical statistical physics and is aimed both at students beginning work in the field and at more experienced researchers who wish to learn more about Monte Carlo methods. The material covered includes methods for both equilibrium and out of equilibrium systems, and common algorithms like the Metropolis and heat-bath algorithms are discussed in detail, as well as more sophisticated ones such as continuous time Monte Carlo, cluster algorithms, multigrid methods, entropic sampling and simulated tempering. Data analysis techniques are also explained starting with straightforward measurement and error-estimation techniques and progressing to topics such as the single and multiple histogram methods and finite size scaling. The last few chapters of the book are devoted to implementation issues, including discussions of such topics as lattice representations, efficient implementation of data structures, multispin coding, parallelization of Monte Carlo algorithms, and random number generation. At the end of the book the authors give a number of example programs demonstrating the applications of these techniques to a variety of well-known models.

2019 · Ecology Letters · 777 citations

Thermal biology of mosquito‐borne disease

Mosquito-borne diseases cause a major burden of disease worldwide. The vital rates of these ectothermic vectors and parasites respond strongly and nonlinearly to temperature and therefore to climate change. Here, we review how trait-based approaches can synthesise and mechanistically predict the temperature dependence of transmission across vectors, pathogens, and environments. We present 11 pathogens transmitted by 15 different mosquito species - including globally important diseases like malaria, dengue, and Zika - synthesised from previously published studies. Transmission varied strongly and unimodally with temperature, peaking at 23-29ºC and declining to zero below 9-23ºC and above 32-38ºC. Different traits restricted transmission at low versus high temperatures, and temperature effects on transmission varied by both mosquito and parasite species. Temperate pathogens exhibit broader thermal ranges and cooler thermal minima and optima than tropical pathogens. Among tropical pathogens, malaria and Ross River virus had lower thermal optima (25-26ºC) while dengue and Zika viruses had the highest (29ºC) thermal optima. We expect warming to increase transmission below thermal optima but decrease transmission above optima. Key directions for future work include linking mechanistic models to field transmission, combining temperature effects with control measures, incorporating trait variation and temperature variation, and investigating climate adaptation and migration.