Using Cox's proportional hazard models to implement optimal strategies: An example from behavioural ecology
Date
2001
Authors
Tenhumberg, B.
Keller, M.
Possingham, H.
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Journal article
Citation
Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 2001; 33(06-Jul):597-607
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Abstract
Simple behavioural rules, or “rules of thumb”, which lead to behaviour that closely approximates an optimal strategy, have generated a lot of recent interest in the field of foraging behaviour. In this paper, we derive rules of thumb from a stochastic simulation model in which the foragers behave optimally. We use a particular biological system: the patch leaving behaviour of a parasitoid. We simulate parasitoids whose patch leaving behaviour is determined by a stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) model, while allowing parasitoids to make mistakes in their estimation of host density when arriving in a patch. We use Cox's proportional hazards models to obtain statistical rules of thumb from the simulated behaviour. This represents the first use of a proportional hazard approximation to generate rules of thumb from a complex optimal strategy.