Ashkaan K. Fahimipour
@akfbio.bsky.social
Trying to understand nature using math + machines, Asst. Professor @ Florida Atlantic University, www.econet.works
We are doing spatial patterns in class tomorrow. So please enjoy my simulation of Pokemon battles on a lattice. Pokemon attack a random neighbor and winners are based on the game's hierarchy (water > fire > ice ...). Some amazing spatial patterns emerging from 7-way rock-paper-scissors!
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM
We are doing spatial patterns in class tomorrow. So please enjoy my simulation of Pokemon battles on a lattice. Pokemon attack a random neighbor and winners are based on the game's hierarchy (water > fire > ice ...). Some amazing spatial patterns emerging from 7-way rock-paper-scissors!
Our paper made the cover of Trends in Microbiology! doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
October 8, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Our paper made the cover of Trends in Microbiology! doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
Today's lesson: if you want to model agents with bodies, probably add physical constraints to their bones
May 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Today's lesson: if you want to model agents with bodies, probably add physical constraints to their bones
New paper led by @janamassing.bsky.social, with @jdyeakel.bsky.social and @thilogross.bsky.social, on dynamics of cooperative bacteria: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
New paper led by @janamassing.bsky.social, with @jdyeakel.bsky.social and @thilogross.bsky.social, on dynamics of cooperative bacteria: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
When animals' decision-making processes are disrupted, models predict that small mistakes like false alarms will be magnified, spreading contagiously on a grand scale
April 22, 2025 at 1:55 PM
When animals' decision-making processes are disrupted, models predict that small mistakes like false alarms will be magnified, spreading contagiously on a grand scale
In other words, transient dynamics of foodwebs can be broken down into contributions from building blocks! This is huge. It means measuring reactivity of a single species or a specific interaction can already tell us how much risk of violent perturbations originates from that part of the network.
March 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
In other words, transient dynamics of foodwebs can be broken down into contributions from building blocks! This is huge. It means measuring reactivity of a single species or a specific interaction can already tell us how much risk of violent perturbations originates from that part of the network.
We show mathematically why this is the case and why it’s unlikely that undiscovered motifs with similar predictive power exist. But then it gets interesting. We find that reactivity (short-term violent responses to perturbations) is different. Unlike stability, reactivity is rooted in small motifs.
March 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
We show mathematically why this is the case and why it’s unlikely that undiscovered motifs with similar predictive power exist. But then it gets interesting. We find that reactivity (short-term violent responses to perturbations) is different. Unlike stability, reactivity is rooted in small motifs.
We ask: when can you predict dynamics of a network just by knowing the dynamics of a small part of it (a motif)? In food webs, the answer is almost never. One famous exception is competitive exclusion: two consumers sharing a single resource can't coexist, precluding stability of the whole web.
March 19, 2025 at 1:56 PM
We ask: when can you predict dynamics of a network just by knowing the dynamics of a small part of it (a motif)? In food webs, the answer is almost never. One famous exception is competitive exclusion: two consumers sharing a single resource can't coexist, precluding stability of the whole web.
New paper! (arxiv.org/abs/2503.14093) I haven’t been this excited about one in a while, and I think the theory @mhab.bsky.social develops here will be a big step forward for the field. Why? Let me explain 🧵...
March 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New paper! (arxiv.org/abs/2503.14093) I haven’t been this excited about one in a while, and I think the theory @mhab.bsky.social develops here will be a big step forward for the field. Why? Let me explain 🧵...
Once again experienced the 'Abrams Effect': thinking you've had an original idea in theoretical ecology but it's actually an esoteric Peter Abrams book chapter from the 80's with no electronic copy online. Time to update the references list...
March 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Once again experienced the 'Abrams Effect': thinking you've had an original idea in theoretical ecology but it's actually an esoteric Peter Abrams book chapter from the 80's with no electronic copy online. Time to update the references list...
[Ayo!]: I have a 2-year #postdoc available for an ecologist Florida Atlantic University. Apply by Dec 1, here: t.co/XwMgMKnUYJ
November 12, 2024 at 1:46 PM
[Ayo!]: I have a 2-year #postdoc available for an ecologist Florida Atlantic University. Apply by Dec 1, here: t.co/XwMgMKnUYJ