Summary: Cellular automata are discrete dynamical systems in which many simple components act together locally to produce complex patterns on a global scale, which may exhibit “self-organising” behaviour. Owing to the ability to model local interactions and spatial heterogeneity, cellular automata have been applied to very broad fields. This paper presents the application of cellular automata to modelling (i) a confined ecosystem, (ii) prey-predator population dynamics, where evolution rules are defined entirely by geometric relations, and (iii) open aquatic ecosystems where external forcings are accounted for in the definition of cell state transitions. The results indicate that cellular automata could be a valuable paradigm in ecological and ecohydraulics modelling.
For the entire collection see [Zbl 1063.68011].