Abstract
An individual-oriented model for a colony of nesting wading birds during a breeding season is described. The birds in the colony are modeled as an assemblage of individuals. Their behaviors, such as foraging, bioenergetics, interactions with conspecifics, and reproduction, as well as spatial movements, are modeled separately for each bird. The individual behavior of each bird is described by decision rules which specify what particular action the bird performs at any given time. The paper gives an overview of the most important behavioral rules used in the model and also briefly describes how the physical and resource environments are taken into account. Simulations of a breeding colony of wood storks ( Mycteria americana ) in a heterogeneous landscape and under a variety of environmental conditions (e.g., changes in standing water level and prey concentration through the breeding season) illustrate their effect on reproductive success of individuals in the colony.
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