OPS 2-8 - An exploration of modeling the spread of the Burmese python, Python mourus

Monday, August 2, 2010
Exhibit Hall A, David L Lawrence Convention Center
Margaret Lowman1, Christopher Hart2, Leon Kaganovskiy3, Elizabeth Hamman4, Angelique Giraud2, Sarah McManus2 and Ryan Tisdale2, (1)Nature Research Center, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, (2)New College of Florida, (3)Mathematics, Touro College, Brooklyn, NY, (4)Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Background/Question/Methods and Results/Conclusions

The development of an agent-based GIS model was attempted to fully understand the expansion of the python population. Relevant ethnological and physiological data on the pythons was evaluated and used to develop a model. As a small, undergraduate institution without large computing power or large sets of data, we relied on publicly available data and open source software. Overall, the project was a valuable learning experience on which New College students can continue to build an improved model as better data and programs become available.

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Banner photo by Flickr user greg westfall.