Publications about RAMAS Software
RAMAS software has been
favorably reviewed and applied by many scientists.
Reviews of RAMAS
Waller, D. 1998. Review of Applied Population Ecology and RAMAS EcoLab. The Quarterly Review of Biology 73:380-381.
Saila, S.B. 1997. Review of Applied Population Ecology and RAMAS EcoLab. Fisheries 22:47-48.
Boyce, M. 1996. Review of RAMAS/GIS. Quarterly Review of Biology 71:167-168.
Kingston, T. 1995. Valuable modeling tool: RAMAS/GIS. Conservation Biology 9:966-968.
Witteman, G.J. and M. Gilpin. 1995. Review of RAMAS/metapop. Quarterly Review of Biology 70:381-382.
Lindenmeyer, D., M. Burgman, H.R. Akçakaya, R. Lacy and H.Possingham. 1995. A review of generic computer programs ALEX, RAMAS/space and VORTEX for modelling the viability of wildlife metapopulations. Ecological Modelling 82:161-174.
Inouye, D. 1994. RAMAS Models. Bulletin of Ecologial Society of America 75:266-267.
Jenkins, S.H. 1994. RAMAS Library of Ecological Software. In Valuable Viable Software in Education: Case Studies and Analysis (P.Morris, ed.) McGraw-Hill.
Jenkins, S.H. 1993. Review of RAMAS/age: Modeling Fluctuations in Age-structured Populations. Quarterly Review of Biology 68:159-160.
Lamberson, R. 1992. Net Notes: software review of RAMAS-age, stage, space. Natural Resource Modeling 6:99-102.
Conroy, M.J. 1992. Review of RAMAS/space: Spatially Structured Population Models for Conservation Biology. Quarterly Review of Biology 67:252-253.
Sauer, J.R. 1992. Review of RAMAS/stage: Generalized Stage-based Modeling for Population Dynamics. Quarterly Review of Biology 67:569-570.
Quotes from RAMAS reviews
"Fortunately, our field is now blessed with Applied Population Ecology, an excellent introduction to population models that facilitates the inclusion of quantitative material in upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate courses" (Waller 1998).
"The book is clearly written and well illustrated with examples. However, I believe it is absolutely essential for most serious readers of this book to use the software (RAMAS Ecolab) because it provides an intuitive understanding of otherwise difficult concepts that are usually addressed mathematically." (Saila 1997).
"I believe that the interface with GIS is a fundamental advance, rendering much of the competition to RAMAS/GIS obsolete. ... this is a landmark piece of software for which there will be abundant opportunities for conservation application" (Boyce 1996).
"...RAMAS/GIS has the potential to be an exceedingly useful tool for wildlife managers and conservation biologists... The tutorial could easily be used as the core of a lab for undergraduate students of conservation biology to introduce some of the concepts of metapopulation dynamics and spatial structure" (Kingston 1995).
"RAMAS/GIS is exceptionally "user friendly," with a nice loose-leafed manual and help screens to go with each function. Indeed, the help screens are so convenient that after an initial reading one seldom needs to consult the manual" (Boyce 1996).
"The [RAMAS/metapop] manual (185 pages) is uncommonly clear in its explanation of the software and has sufficient references to assist the user in creating appropriate models with relevant parameters... RAMAS/metapop is a potentially valuable tool for environmental decision makers who must project trends of populations over fragmented landscapes" (Witteman and Gilpin 1995).
"... the personnel at Applied Biomathematics are committed to improving the software and developing new software that expands the scope of population modeling" (Jenkins 1994).
"Each manual includes an introduction to the topic, chapters about the model, a chapter on installation, a glossary, a bibliography and an index. The manuals are quite thorough, and provide background about the models, discussion of the equations and conventions used in them, the assumptions that they make, and their limitations" (Inouye 1994).
"Because RAMAS is widely used in research and management, students who are exposed to it may have a start on using it as a practical tool for population modeling when they enter the work force. This advantage would not exist for software designed purely for instructional use. Although RAMAS is powerful enough to be used effectively in research, it is relatively user-friendly so that it can be used successfully for instruction" (Jenkins 1994).
"This family of population simulators [the RAMAS Library] provides a model to cover almost any circumstance. ... It has proven to be excellent for demonstrating principles of population dynamics. In addition, students find it very user friendly and are quickly able to build models to suit their own investigations" (Lamberson 1992).
Description of methods used in RAMAS
Akçakaya, H.R. 2000. Viability analyses with habitat-based metapopulation models. Population Ecology 42:45-53. (The original publication is available at http://www.springerlink.com).
Ferson, S. and M. Burgman (eds.) Quantitative Methods for Conservation Biology, Springer-Verlag, NY.
Akçakaya, H.R., M.A. Burgman, and L.R. Ginzburg. 1999. Applied Population Ecology: Principles and Computer Exercises using RAMAS EcoLab 2.0. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Akçakaya, H.R. 1996. Linking GIS with Models of Ecological Risk Assessment for Endangered Species. Presented at the Third International Conference on Integrating GIS and Environmental Modeling, at Santa Fe, New Mexico, January, 1996.
Akçakaya, H.R. 1996. Linking Metapopulation Models with GIS for Population Viability Analysis. Pages 45-54 in Using Population Viability Analysis in Ecosystem Management at Fundy National Park, S. Flemming, ed. Parks Canada - Ecosystem Science Review Report No. 1. Halifax, N.S.
Akçakaya, H.R. 1994. GIS enhances endangered species conservation efforts. GIS WORLD Vol.7, November 1994, pp. 36-40.
Burgman, M.A., S. Ferson and H.R. Akcakaya. 1993. Risk Assessment in Conservation Biology. 314 pp. Chapman and Hall, London.
Akçakaya, H.R. 1992. Population viability analysis and risk assessment. Pages 148-157 in Wildlife 2001: Populations. D. R. McCullough and R. H. Barrett, eds. Elsevier Publishers, London.
Ferson, S. and H.R. Akçakaya. 1992. Quantitative software tools for conservation biology. Pages 371-386 in Computer Techniques in Environmental Studies IV . P. Zannetti, ed. Elsevier Applied Science, London.
Akçakaya, H.R. and L.R. Ginzburg. 1991. Ecological risk analysis for single and multiple populations. Pages 73-87 in Species Conservation: A Population-Biological Approach . A. Seitz and V. Loeschcke (eds.) Birkhaeuser Verlag, Basel.
Akçakaya, H.R. 1991. A method for simulating demographic stochasticity. Ecological Modelling 54: 133-136.
Ferson, S., L.R. Ginzburg and A. Silvers. 1989. Extreme event risk analysis for age-structured populations. Ecological Modelling 47: 175-187.
Ferson, S. and M.A. Burgman. 1989. The dangers of being few: demographic risk analysis for rare species extinction. Ecosystem Management: Rare Species and Significant Habitats, edited by R.S. Mitchell, C.J. Sheviak and D.J. Leopold. New York State Museum Bulletin 471.
Jacquez, G.M. and L. Ginzburg. 1989. RAMAS: teaching population dynamics, ecological risk assessment, and conservation biology. Academic Computing (October) pp. 26f, 54-56.
Burgman, M.A. and C.R. Neet. 1989. Analyse des risques d'extinction des populations naturelles. Acta Oecologica / Oecologia Generalis 10:233-243.
Burgman, M., H.R. Akçakaya and S.S. Loew. 1988. The use of extinction models in species conservation. Biological Conservation 43:9-25.
Ferson, S. 1988. Microcomputer software for stochastic demography and ecological risk analysis. The American Statistician 42: 273.
Manuals
Akçakaya, H.R. 2002. RAMAS GIS: Linking Landscape Data With Population Viability Analysis (version 4.0). Applied Biomathematics, Setauket, New York.
Akçakaya, H.R. 2002. RAMAS Metapop: Viability Analysis for Stage-structured Metapopulations (version 4.0). Applied Biomathematics, Setauket, New York.
Ferson, S. 1990. RAMAS/stage User Manual: Generalized Stage-based Modeling for Population Dynamics. Applied Biomathematics, New York.
Ferson, S. and H.R. Akçakaya. 1990. RAMAS/age User Manual: Modeling Fluctuations in Age-structured Populations. Applied Biomathematics, Setauket, New York.
Akçakaya, H.R. and S. Ferson. 1990. RAMAS/space User Manual: Spatially Structured Population Models for Conservation Biology. Applied Biomathematics, New York.
Applications of RAMAS to specific cases
