Agent-based modelling of the Housesparrow

Abstract

The loss of biodiversity is a global problem. As such, there has also been a significant decline in the number of house sparrows in north-western Europe including the Netherlands. It is therefore important that research is carried out into the behavior and distribution of house sparrows. Conceptual behavioral model can be used to explore the interaction between the spatial environments and the behavior of the house sparrows to develop pathways that predict the spatial distribution of House sparrows. The method was to design a conceptual behavior model by developing an agent-based model in Netlogo. From the model, pathways 1, 2, 3, 4 and standard are designed. Pathways 1 and 3 provide the best distribution of house sparrows over the buildings, while the standard pathway and pathway 4 have the poorest distribution of house sparrows. The developed model only partly corresponds to real-world observations but large standard deviations. initial birds and predators have the greatest influence on the total population. Green gardens and predators have only a very small influence on the spatial distribution of house sparrows. The suitability of the houses has the greatest influence on the spatial distribution of house sparrows. It is important to note that there is a major difference compared to the original agent-based model. The improvements in the model have led to more interaction between the spatial environments and the behavior of the house sparrows. This makes the model suitable for studying the spatial distribution of house sparrows. However, because the standard deviations are quite high and the model does not completely match reality, more research is needed.