Thomas
Olivier, Ph.D. (
tom.olivier@alumni.duke.edu)
CRITTRZ Population Simulation Kit Home Page
CRITTRZ
is a Python language library that supports construction of models of
demographic, genetic and infectious disease processes in animal
populations subdivided by space or social groupings.
Development of CRITTRZ has been motivated particularly by an interest in
processes in populations of Old World monkeys. The library includes an interface to
the Idrisi geographic information system
(GIS). CRITTRZ
is designed for use by research biologists and conservation biologists.
It is open-source
software and can be downloaded freely. The
current release is a beta test release. It targets computers running Windows
XP
and Linux operating systems.
The tenth version of CRITTRZ ( Version 0.9.5 ) was released on 1-14-2011. This latest release adds the ability to write to a file the distances between subpopulations in spatially structured simulations, a harness that allows a simulation series to be run in segments, more detailed logging of modes of individual migration in Old World monkey models and transmission of mitochondrial DNA.
Version 0.9.5 is the second beta release of CRITTRZ. Earlier versions are obsolete. Release of version 1.0 is planned to take place during 2011..
Documentation:
Reports:
Oral
presentation at the 2003 PyCon Python language developers' conference.
Poster presented at the 2003 Society for Conservation Biology meetings. Summarizes purpose, design of CRITTRZ and assumptions of model of cercopithecine monkey population. Presents some analyses of group fusions and fissions in simulated growing, declining and stable populations and simulated spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Poster presented at the 2004 Society for Conservation Biology meetings. Summarizes CRITTRZ system and cercopithecine multi-male population model. Analyses genetic differentiation between social groups in simulated populations that are growing, declining and stable in size, with different group fusion and fission size thresholds. Simulated populations are socially subdivided, but groups are not isolated by space.
Oral presentation at the 2005 Society for Conservation Biology meetings. Reports on simulated effects of varied demographic conditions and depth of kinship reckoning on matriline numbers and genetic differentiation in cercopithecine multi-male social groups . Examines genetic differentiation for entire groups, group natal segments, matrilines within groups and fission product groups. Simulated populations are socially subdivided, but groups are not isolated by space.
Oral presentation at the NKS 2006 Wolfram Science Conference. Reviews rationale for use of simulations in primate population studies, issues presented by varied social group organizations in different monkey species, precursors of CRITTRZ written in FORTH and C in 1980's, and CRITTRZ.
Oral presentation at the 2007 Virginia GIS Conference. Explains CRITTRZ interface to the Idrisi GIS. Examples of CRITTRZ raster uses include group home ranges, cost of movement surfaces affecting migration, resources influencing survival and reproduction. Simulations illustrate invasion of network and planar shaped habitats by monkey populations, infectious disease spread within and between sympatric monkey species.
Poster presented at the 2008 Society for Conservation Biology meetings. Summarizes CRITTRZ system, GIS usage, cercopithecine multi-male population model. Illustrates gene frequency surfaces generated in simulations of monkey populations occupying planar and Y-shaped habitats.
Poster presented at the 2010 Congress of the International Primatological Society. Examines genetic differentiation in simulated populations composed of cercopithecine multi-male groups. Populations subjected to density-dependent size regulation, with some spatial isolation of groups. Version posted here includes correction of title typo.
Oral presentation at the 2011 meetings of the American Society of Primatologists. Investigates genetic adaptation to disease at one autosomal locus in simulated populations composed of cercopithecine multi-male groups. Considers associated demographic, social and disease prevalence changes.
Note
that the discussions in the PyCon and 2003 SCB presentations refer to development
versions of CRITTRZ as they
existed at two points in 2003. Some architectural features of Versions 0.7.0
onward are
different.
Download Information
CRITTRZ is available now in three distribution files. CRITTRZ.0.9.5.Win.zip contains the new core system for installation on Windows computers. CRITTRZ.0.9.5.WinIdr.zip contains the core system and modules that provide and use an interface to the Idrisi GIS ( sold by Clark Labs ) for Windows computers. CRITTRZ.0.9.5.Lin.tar.gz contains the core system for installation on Linux computers.
To download a distribution file, press on the link provided below:
Distribution files include source code, documentation and sample applications. These
downloads also include a copy of Python source code and documentation for rv
Version 1.1, an open source random number generator developed by Ivan Frohne and
used by CRITTRZ.
Feedback
Comments
on CRITTRZ and bug reports are welcome by the author, Tom Olivier ( tom.olivier@alumni.duke.edu
).
Page updated 10-13-2011. Green Creek Home