大黃蜂和系列犯罪到底有什么共同之處,？乍一看,，二者風馬牛不相及，然而仔細研究便會發(fā)現(xiàn),，它們在選擇在哪里覓食以及在哪里犯罪上具有驚人的相似性,。
據(jù)美國《科學》雜志在線新聞報道，犯罪學使用的模型能夠反映大黃蜂如何在花中覓食,。研究人員在最近出版的英國皇家學會《界面》（Interface）雜志上報告了這一研究成果。這種名為地緣剖繪的技術(shù)能夠使警方通過罪案地點判斷罪犯所處的位置，而對于大黃蜂來說,，這一模型能夠在實驗室中準確跟蹤昆蟲在花中的覓食軌跡,，并且精確找到大黃蜂的起始位置。研究人員希望能夠利用這項技術(shù)研究其他動物的覓食模式,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Interface,，10.1098/rsif.2008.0242，Nigel E. Raine, D. Kim Rossmo, Steven C. Le Comber
Geographic profiling applied to testing models of bumble-bee foraging
Nigel E. Raine1, D. Kim Rossmo2, Steven C. Le Comber3
1 Research Centre for Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
2Department of Criminal Justice, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
3 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
摘要
Geographic profiling (GP) was originally developed as a statistical tool to help police forces prioritize lists of suspects in investigations of serial crimes. GP uses the location of related crime sites to make inferences about where the offender is most likely to live, and has been extremely successful in criminology. Here, we show how GP is applicable to experimental studies of animal foraging, using the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris. GP techniques enable us to simplify complex patterns of spatial data down to a small number of parameters (2–3) for rigorous hypothesis testing. Combining computer model simulations and experimental observation of foraging bumble-bees, we demonstrate that GP can be used to discriminate between foraging patterns resulting from (i) different hypothetical foraging algorithms and (ii) different food item (flower) densities. We also demonstrate that combining experimental and simulated data can be used to elucidate animal foraging strategies: specifically that the foraging patterns of real bumble-bees can be reliably discriminated from three out of nine hypothetical foraging algorithms. We suggest that experimental systems, like foraging bees, could be used to test and refine GP model predictions, and that GP offers a useful technique to analyse spatial animal behaviour data in both the laboratory and field.
