Using the ODD protocol and NetLogo to replicate agent-based models
2025
Grimm, Volker | Berger, Uta | Calabrese, Justin, M. | Cortés-Avizanda, Ainara | Ferrer, Jordi | Franz, Mathias | Groeneveld, Jürgen | Hartig, Florian | Jakoby, Oliver | Jovani, Roger | Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie | Münkemüller, Tamara | Piou, Cyril | Premo, L.S. | Pütz, Sandro | Quintaine, Thomas | Rademacher, Christine | Rüger, Nadja | Schmolke, Amelie | Thiele, Jan, C. | Touza, Julia | Railsback, Steven, F. | Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) | University of Potsdam = Universität Potsdam | Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation ; University of Potsdam = Universität Potsdam | Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) | Institute of Forest Growth and Computer Sciences | Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) | Center for Advanced Systems Understanding [Görlitz] (CASUS) | Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD) ; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain] (CSIC) | Lycée Français de Barcelone (LFB) | Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie = Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) ; Max-Planck-Gesellschaft | Freie Universität Berlin | Universität Regensburg - University of Regensburg (UR) | RIFCON GmbH | Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) ; Leibniz Association | Technical University of Berlin / Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) | Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA) ; Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (Fédération OSUG)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) | Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | Washington State University (WSU) | Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BFN) | Centre de recherche et de formation en éco-éthologie (CERFE) ; Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) | Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm = Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg [Germany] (TH Nürnberg) | German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) | Leipzig University / Universität Leipzig | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) | Department Ecoinformatics, Biometrics and Forest Growth [Göttingen Univ] ; Georg-August-University of Göttingen = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen | Bremische Bürgerschaft | University of York [York, UK] | Lang Railsback & Associates | This work was partially funded by the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), which is financed by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and by the Saxon Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) with tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. Highligts: • ODD protocol and NetLogo were used for model replication. • 15 out of 18 agent-based models from different disciplines were successfully replicated. • Model replication can support theory development. • A checklist to support model replication is provided. • Standards such as ODD and quasi-standards such as NetLogo support Good Modelling Practice.Abstract: Replicating existing models and their key results not only adds credibility to the original work, it also allows modellers to start model development from an existing approach rather than from scratch. New theory can then be developed by changing the assumptions or scenarios tested, or by carrying out more in-depth analysis of the model. However, model replication can be challenging if the original model description is incomplete or ambiguous. Here we show that the use of standards can facilitate and speed up replication: the ODD protocol for describing models, and NetLogo, an easy-to-learn but powerful software platform and language for implementing agent-based models. To demonstrate the benefits of this approach, we conducted a replication experiment on 18 agent-based models from different disciplines. The researchers doing the replications had no or little previous experience using ODD and NetLogo. Their task was to rewrite the original model description using ODD, implement the model in NetLogo and try to replicate at least one exemplary main result. They were also asked to produce, if time allowed, some initial new results with the replicated model, and to record the total time spent on the replication exercise. Replication was successful for 15 out of 18 models. The time taken varied between 2 and 12 days, with an average of 5 days. ODD helped to systematically scan the original model description, while NetLogo proved easy and quick to learn, but difficult to debug when implementation problems arose. Although most of the models replicated were relatively simple, we conclude that even for more complex models it can be useful to use ODD and NetLogo for replication, at least for developing a prototype to help decide how to proceed with the replicated model. Overall, the use of both, standard approaches such as ODD and easy to learn but powerful software such as NetLogo, can promote coherence and efficiency within and between different models and modelling communities. Imagine if all modellers spoke ODD and NetLogo as a common language or lingua franca.
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