Professor, PhD
Jarl Giske

Research interests

My current research interest is how animals make decisions and which ecological effects these mechanisms and architectures have. The major tool for this is agent-based modelling where adaptation occurs over generations through the Genetic Algorithm.

We focus on how the partly subjective decision architecture in fish and other animals works, and how this can be utilised in modelling. See more in the (partly overlapping) "Animal Decision Making" and "Digital Fish" web pages:
Theme: Animal decision making
We study how to model the processes of and architectures for decision-making. We have focussed on cognitive mechanisms but also studied hormonal control of the organism. While understanding animal behaviour is still our goal in most cases, it has also led to interest in animal wellbeing. Theme: Bringing a digital fish to life
Most models in ecology are strongly influenced by Occam's razor, which in modern science means that models and theories shall be as simple as possible. We have, however, also tried to move in the opposite direction, by modelling and putting together several aspects of how it is to be a fish, as detailed and realistic as possible. One goal is to have so rich models that model simulations may replace experiments on live fish.