Hey everyone!
I want to start a project to make a mathematical model for the population of Messor barbarus at various conditions. I mostly do modelling for crop growth but i figures i could probably also apply it for ant population growth.
Of course this growth rate depends on many factors. For a model, i will assume that all protein and carbohydrate needs are met and they have had plenty of space to expand. I will try to incorporate temperature so that it is possible to predict growth of population with temperature as a variable parameter.
Problem is: I only have a single colony. I will monitor it's growth but it would really help if i also had information from other people who keep Messor barbarus. This is where i need some help. If you have Messor barbarus and you haven't limited their population growth (by not upgrading to a larger nest if they need it for example) could you share the following information? It would be greatly appreciated!!
Temperature (would be preferred to have been stable as much as possible):
Starting population:
Current population:
any other population data points you have from earlier:
Time since starting population in months:
estimations of temperature and population are fine!
a fictional example (no idea of these numbers are any close):
Temperature: 23 degrees c
starting population: 20
1 month after start: 40
Current population: 100
Time since starting population: 3
I have no idea if i will be able to make it, but it's worth a shot. It is kind of dependent on if i can generate and receive good data.
Thank you so much in advance!
