Theoretical analysis and multi-agent simulation of the ecosystem in Tibet

Abstract

Bird Funeral is a strange funeral custom in Tibet of China. The lamaists hope they can save small fauna such as pikas by sacrificing themselves to the eagles. But can they save the fauna by their sacrifice? By theoretical analysis and multi-agent simulation, we give a negative conclusion that the sacrifice are, in fact, reducing the population of the pikas. In contemporary Tibet, the eagle population is reducing drastically, and the pastures are degenerating. People blame this on the excessive population of the plateau pikas. We propose a model to explain this phenomenon. The eagles are dying off because of overgrazing but not the pikas. We also point out that killing the pikas is probably unhelpful to recover the pastures but worsen the degeneration of the pastures. And if people want to recover the pastures, they have to increase both the population of the predator and the supply of grass simultaneously.