Genetic variation is a vital component of biodiversity, providing ecosystems, species, populations and individuals with the raw material to adapt and survive environmental change and enabling natural selection, as envisaged by Darwin 150 years ago, to operate. Genetic biodiversity has long been recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the EU Biodiversity Strategy as one of the three essential elements of living diversity. Yet conserving genetic variation is poorly addressed in practice compared to the two other biodiversity components – species and ecosystems. In addition the link between science, policy and implementation needs a step-change if we are to help ‘future-proof’ essential components of our biodiversity against the anticipated global threats of the coming decades. There exists both a policy-based and capacity impediment to the optimal management of genetic biodiversity in the EU. ConGRESS aims to rectify the problem by delivering dissemination tools which policy makers and conservation managers can conveniently use to incorporate genetic biodiversity into their policy and management frameworks.ConGRESS will empower organizations to efficiently use genetics in conservation for the first time. ConGRESS aims to make genetic expertise, information and user-friendly tools available, beginning at the initial stages of a conservation program (study design and assessment), through to management decision-making and implementation and finally for policy development at a local and regional level. By ensuring that all stakeholders can understand, apply and evaluate genetic data in their conservation programs ConGRESS aims to finally fully include genetic biodiversity in EU conservation actions and improve best practice in the future. ... [Information of the supplier]
CourseWare gives students an interesting simulator, with preset scenarios and a homework assignment as a jumping-off place, and lets them explore to build intuitive understanding, in order to "make the math an experience". Ready-to-use simulators include fractals, Lovelock's DaisyWorld, forest succession and fragmenting, foodweb dynamics, humanitarian aid, population growth models, isocline analysis, and more. These can be easily customized, or used as-is. ... [Information of the supplier]
PHYLIP is a free package of programs for inferring phylogenies. It is distributed as source code, documentation files, and a number of different types of executables. These Web pages contain information on PHYLIP and ways to transfer the executables, source code and documentation to your computer. [Information of the supplier, modified]
The twin goals of the MSU Digital Evolution Laboratory are to experimentally study digital organisms to improve our understanding of how natural evolution works, and then to apply this knowledge to solving computational problems. Much of the work in the Devolab is centered on research with and the continued development of the Avida digital evolution research platform. In Avida, a population of self-replicating computer programs is subjected to external pressures (such as mutations and limited resources) and allowed to evolve subject to natural selection. ... [Information of the supplier, modified]
The Register of Ecological Models (REM) is a meta-database for existing mathematical models in ecology. The ECOBAS project provides a system for documentation of mathematical descriptions of ecological processes. [Information of the supplier]
The CellML language is based on the XML markup language- a computer language made for illustrating modell structures. CellML is being developed by the Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland and affiliated research groups. The purpose of CellML is to store and exchange computer-based mathematical models. CellML allows scientists to share models even if they are using different model-building software. ... [Information of the supplier]
NRCAM, the National Resource for Cell Analysis and Modeling is developing a unique software modeling environment, the Virtual Cell, for quantitative cell biological research. Approaches in computational cell biology are coupled with high resolution light microscopy to facilitate the interplay between experimental manipulation and computational simulation of specific cellular functions that can range from simple molecular motors to tissue-wide process. The Virtual Cell is deployed as a distributed application that is used over the Internet. It is freely accessible to all members of the scientific community. The Virtual Cell has been specifically designed to be a tool for a wide range of scientists, from experimental cell biologists to theoretical biophysicists. Likewise the creation of models can range from the simple, to evaluate hypotheses or to interpret experimental data, to complex multi-layered models used to probe the predicted behavior of complex, highly non-linear systems. Such models can be based on both experimental data and purely theoretical assumptions. ... [Information of the supplier]
JSim is a Java-based simulation system for building quantitative numeric models and analyzing them with respect to experimental reference data. JSim's primary focus is in physiology and biomedicine, however its computational engine is quite general and applicable to a wide range of scientific domains. JSim models may intermix ODEs, PDEs, implicit equations, integrals, summations, discrete events and procedural code as appropriate. JSim's model compiler can automatically insert conversion factors for compatible physical units as well as detect and reject unit unbalanced equations. JSim also imports the SBML and CellML model archival formats. JSim downloads are available as precompiled binaries (Linux, MacIntosh, Windows) or source code. JSim can also run as an applet within your web browser. JSim is provided free for non-commercial use as a public service by the National Simulation Resource at the University of Washington. ... [Information of the supplier]
ModelDB is a curated database of published models in the broad domain of computational neuroscience. It addresses the need for access to such models in order to evaluate their validity and extend their use. It can handle computational models expressed in any textual form, including procedural or declarative languages (e.g. C++, XML dialects) and source code written for any simulation environment. The model source code doesn't even have to reside inside ModelDB; it just has to be available from some publicly accessible online repository or WWW site. ModelDB is curated in order to maximize the scientific utility of its contents. The ideal model entry would contain "original" (author-written) source code, especially if it works and reproduces at least one figure from a published article. Original source code has tremendous value because it is what the authors used to generate the simulation results from which they derived their published insights and conclusions. High quality "third party" re-implementations of published models are also relevant, especially those involving models that are of wide interest. ... [Information of the supplier]
The International Society for Ecological Modelling (ISEM) promotes the international exchange of ideas, scientific results, and general knowledge in the area of the application of systems analysis and simulation in ecology and natural resource management. The Society was formed in Denmark in 1975, and today has chapters in Europe, Japan, and North America. ISEM sponsors conferences, symposia, and workshops that promote the systems philosophy in ecological research and teaching, and in the management of natural resources. The Society publishes the newsletter ECOMOD, and its members frequently contribute articles to the official scientific journal of the Society, Ecological Modelling. Also see the ISEM Europe website. ... [Information of the supplier]