A distributed implementation of an individual-based predator-prey model

This thesis presents a distributed implementation of the Spatially-Explicit Individual-Based Simulation Model of Florida Panther and White-Tailed Deer in the Everglades and Big Cypress Landscapes (SIMPDEL) model. SIMPDEL models the impact of different water management strategies in the South Florida the white-tailed deer and the Florida panther populations. The SIM PDEL models the interaction of the four interrelated components, vegetation, region on hydrology, white-tailed deer, and Florida panther, over a 23-year period. Very similar outputs of bioenergetic and survival statistics were obtained from the se rial and distributed models. A performance evaluation of the two models revealed moderate speed improvements for the distributed model (referred to as DSIMPDEL). The 4-processor configuration attained a speed improvement of 3.83 with small deer populations on an ATM-based network of SUN Ultra-2 workstations over the serial model executing on a single SUN Ultra-2 workstation.