ABSTRACT
This contribution examines a class of simple models, the Cellular Automata (CA), and discusses their relevance to particular aspects of ecological theory. The emphasis is put on spatial differentiation, and more precisely, on how ecological processes can engender and also maintain patchiness. The Neighborhood Coherence Principle (NCP) is presented as a general rule of spatial differentiation and pattern formation. Simulations using the SISPAQ model demonstrate how NCP’s basic tenets generate dynamical processes. An application of NCP to the problem of tissue homeostasis—a problem of “cell ecology”—suggests how CA may provide new insights in the understanding of a phenomenon resulting from otherwise complex mechanisms. The advantages of CA are Anally discussed in the light of four particular aspects: individuality, spatial realism, simplicity and stochasticity.
