Viswanathan G.M., Da Luz M.G.E., Raposo E.P., Stanley H.E. The Physics of Foraging: An Introduction to Random Searches and Biological Encounters

Cambridge University Press, 2011. — 178 p.Do the movements of animals, including humans, follow patterns that can be described quantitatively by simple laws of motion? If so, then why? These questions have attracted the attention of scientists in many disciplines, and stimulated debates ranging from ecological matters to queries such as 'how can there be free will if one follows a law of motion?' This is the first book on this rapidly evolving subject, introducing random searches and foraging in a way that can be understood by readers without a previous background on the subject. It reviews theory as well as experiment, addresses open problems and perspectives, and discusses applications ranging from the colonization of Madagascar by Austronesians to the diffusion of genetically modified crops. The book will interest physicists working in the field of anomalous diffusion and movement ecology as well as ecologists already familiar with the concepts and methods of statistical physics.Contents
Introduction: Movement
Empirical motivation for studying movement
Statistical physics of biological motion
Random walks and Lévy flights
Wandering albatrosses
Experimental Findings
Early studies
Evidence of anomalous diffusion
Human dispersal
How strong is the evidence?
Theory of Foraging
Optimizing encounter rates
Lévy flight foraging
Other search models
Finale: A Broader Context
Superdiffusive random searches
Adaptational versus emergent superdiffusion
Perspectives and open problems
Appendices