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Biomimicry at the Landscape Scale: Agent-Based Model Simulating Beaver-Inspired Construction
Federico Oliva1, Jordan Kennedy2, Justin Werfel3
1Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 27, 2026
Summary
North American beaver behavior, modeled using a bio-inspired multi-agent framework, shapes landscapes. Larger beaver populations drive hydrological network expansion through bank erosion, demonstrating non-human geomorphological influence.
Area of Science:
- Ecological modeling
- Geomorphology
- Computational biology
Background:
- Natural landscapes result from interactions between organisms and their environment.
- Agent-based modeling is underutilized for studying non-human geomorphological impacts.
- Understanding animal behavior's role in landscape change is crucial for environmental design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a bio-inspired multi-agent framework to simulate North American beaver behavior.
- To investigate how individual beaver actions influence adaptive landscape morphology.
- To explore the impact of beaver colony size on geomorphological patterns.
Main Methods:
- Developed a multi-agent framework with two behavioral states: Explorers and Builders.
- Simulated agent interactions in a dynamic environment with seasonal vegetation and hydrological proxies.
- Employed parameter sweeps and Monte Carlo replications for quantitative analysis.
Main Results:
- Decentralized stigmergic heuristics were shown to drive emergent spatial patterns.
- Smaller beaver populations maintained ecological equilibrium.
- Larger populations induced non-linear hydrological network expansion via bank erosion.
Conclusions:
- The developed framework provides an open-source tool for studying non-human agency in landscape formation.
- Beaver behavior significantly influences landscape morphology, particularly hydrological networks.
- This research offers insights into regenerative strategies for landscape architecture and environmental design.
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