Individual-based modelling of fishermen search behaviour with neural networks and reinforcement learning

A model to mimic the search behaviour of fishermen is built with two neural networks to cope with two separate decision-making processes in fishing activities. One neural network deals with decisions to stay or move to new fishing grounds and the other is constructed for the purpose of finding prey within the fishing areas. Some similarities with the behaviour of real fishermen are found: concentrated local search once a prey has been located to increase the probability of remaining near a prey patch and the straightforward movement to other fishing grounds. The artificial fisherman prefers areas near the port when conditions in different fishing grounds are similar or when there is high uncertainty in its world. In the latter case a reluctance to navigate to other areas is observed. The artificial fisherman selects areas with higher concentration of prey, even if they are far from the port of departure, unless a high uncertainty is related to the fishing ground. Connected areas are preferred and followed in orderly fashion if a higher catch is expected. The observed behaviour of the artificial fisherman in uncertain scenarios can be described as a risk-averse attitude. The approach seems appropriate for an individual-based modelling of fishery systems, focusing on the learning and adaptive characteristics of fishermen and on interactions that take place at a fine scale.

[1]  M. Abrahams,et al.  Variation in the Competitive Abilities of Fishermen and its Influence on the Spatial Distribution of the British Columbia Salmon Troll Fleet , 1990 .

[2]  Long Ji Lin,et al.  Reinforcement Learning of Non-Markov Decision Processes , 1995, Artif. Intell..

[3]  Carl J. Walters,et al.  A General Model for Simulation of Stock and Fleet Dynamics in Spatially Heterogeneous Fisheries , 1987 .

[4]  G. Pyke,et al.  Are animals efficient harvesters? , 1978, Animal Behaviour.

[5]  R. Hilborn,et al.  Analysis of the British Columbia Salmon Purse-Seine Fleet: Dynamics of Movement , 1979 .

[6]  Y Toquenaga,et al.  Frpm artificial individuals to global patterns. , 1994, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[7]  Pattie Maes,et al.  Behavior-based artificial intelligence , 1993 .

[8]  Sridhar Mahadevan,et al.  To Discount or Not to Discount in Reinforcement Learning: A Case Study Comparing R Learning and Q Learning , 1994, ICML.

[9]  Courtland L. Smith,et al.  Human behavior incorporation into ecological computer simulations , 1982 .

[10]  O P Judson,et al.  The rise of the individual-based model in ecology. , 1994, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[11]  Marc Mangel,et al.  Search and Stock Depletion: Theory and Applications , 1985 .

[12]  Dario Floreano,et al.  From Animals to Animats 2: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior , 2000, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[13]  Colin W. Clark,et al.  SEARCH THEORY IN NATURAL RESOURCE MODELING , 1986 .

[14]  Lawrence Birnbaum,et al.  Proceedings of the eighth international workshop on Machine learning , 1991 .

[15]  Randall M. Peterman,et al.  Movement Dynamics in a Fishery: Application of the Ideal Free Distribution to Spatial Allocation of Effort , 1993 .

[16]  Steven D. Whitehead,et al.  Complexity and Cooperation in Q-Learning , 1991, ML.

[17]  Long-Ji Lin,et al.  Self-improving reactive agents: case studies of reinforcement learning frameworks , 1991 .

[18]  Marc Mangel,et al.  Search effort and catch rates in fisheries , 1982 .

[19]  Andrea Bonarini,et al.  Anytime Learning and Adaptation of Structured Fuzzy Behaviors , 1997, Adapt. Behav..

[20]  P. Thagard,et al.  Mind: Introduction to Cognitive Science , 1996 .

[21]  C. Clark,et al.  Foraging and Flocking Strategies: Information in an Uncertain Environment , 1984, The American Naturalist.

[22]  Laurene V. Fausett,et al.  Fundamentals Of Neural Networks , 1993 .

[23]  Ray Hilborn,et al.  Fleet Dynamics and Individual Variation: Why Some People Catch More Fish than Others , 1985 .

[24]  C. Clark,et al.  Uncertainty, search, and information in fisheries , 1983 .

[25]  Peter J. Allen,et al.  Dynamics of discovery and exploitation: the case of the Scotian Shelf groundfish fisheries. , 1986 .