Workshop MMVW04 — Modelling non-Markov Movement Processes

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together scientists interested in different areas of complex movement in a biological context, from field research, to data analysis, to theoretical modelling. In particular, the focus will be on complex movement beyond the Markov property, such as memory-dependent animal foraging processes, spatial avoidance due to past deposition of animal scent or resource depletion, and directed motion in neutrophils. Despite its ubiquity, the mathematical difficulty in dealing with history dependence has hampered the study of non-Markov movement processes. Past empirical limitations are also responsible for the lack of a general theory to describe history dependent movement processes, as detection of features that would distinguish between Markov and non-Markov model predictions were not attainable. Currently, movement data may reach unprecedented resolution, and there is a renewed interest in developing non-Markov movement models, exemplified by recent theoretical studies to devise general prescriptions to simulate non-Markov stochastic processes.