This is quite an interesting article, as the authors attempted to simulate a system involving the behaviour of primates and the struggle for both food and safety, both of which work against each other. The model was complex and involved many variables and considerations. I appreciated the complexity of the model as I recently constructed a model involving the Green Monkey in Barbados. As an invasive specie, the goal was to find a reasonable technique to stabilize the population explosion before the system and the resources on the island reached the carrying capacity. What I appreciated about this article is that the authors go a step further and manage to display their primate model spatially, something that would have greatly improved the accuracy and interest of my model.
This type of model is fascinating, as so much of the general public would be interested to know how something like this works. This is something that you could see on the Discovery Channel, or National Geographic and would easily attract viewers. People are interested in science and animals and they love to see scientists study them. Thus is a great way to introduce such technology to the general public, and perhaps influence people to take an interest in GIScience.
As mentioned in the article, there is so much potential with GIScience and its ever expanding capabilities. Using GIScience and coupling it with a model similar to what was constructed in the article, a better understanding of animal behavior and movement could be established in the scientific community. It could potentially be used to allow humans to better understand and avoid human-animal interaction, eliminating many problems. GIScience is proving more and more to be an incredibly valuable discipline, and the possibilities of application appear limitless.
Buzz