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Provides a comprehensive methodological overview of systems analysis (modelling/simulation/quantitative analysis) of livestock systems. It places the method of systems analysis into the epistemological context of livestock science.
List of contents
Introduction. Properties and Problems of Livestock Systems. Systems – Systems Analysis – Models. Simulation – Prediction – Optimization. A Descriptive Formalism of Livestock System Models. Model Design. Objectives and Structure. Algorithm and Operational Objectives. Planning Horizon and Algorithm. Model Domain. Model Validation. Core Planning and Optimization Problems in Livestock Systems. Breeding Goals. Herd Replacement Policies. Extensive Grazing Livestock Systems and their Environments. Suitability to Task. Objective Criteria for Model Selection. Case Studies. Biological and Mathematical Deficiencies in Livestock Science and System Models. Core Traits Accounting for Phenotypic Variation. Non-Additivity in the Absence of Functional Interaction. Livestock System Models as a Mirror of Biological Understanding in Livestock Science. Linear Models vs. Pattern Recognition. From Pattern Recognition to Mechanistic Understanding. From Mechanistic Understanding to Prediction and Optimization. Outlook. Appendix: An Overview of Currently Available Tools. Normative Models. Predictive Models. References.
Summary
Written by a globally-recognized authority, Systems Analysis of Livestock Production provides a comprehensive methodological overview of systems analysis (modelling/simulation/quantitative analysis) of livestock systems. It places the method of systems analysis into the epistemological context of livestock science. The book develops a rationale and a descriptive formalism for the use of systems analysis as a necessary element of livestock science. It provides the only methodological approach capable of considering, understanding and predicting the effects of genotype – environment interactions on the ecological and economic outcomes of livestock production.
