/UNICOR

A landscape connectivity program

Primary LanguagePython

UNICOR

UNICOR is a network simulation model designed to help researchers and managers identify habitat fragmentation and landscape connectivity. This release includes installation instructions, version notes, some examples, and technical documentation.

Python: >3.0

Contents

Included in this release are the following:

README.pdf this file

UNICOR Source: UNICOR.py - Python driver code, UNICORFun.py - Python main module/function code, UNICORMaps.py - Python display module code, UNICOROutputs.py - Python file output module code, unicor_script.py - Python files for running batch files,

Additional Packages: RipMgr - Installation file for input package by Glassy (2011), priodict.py - Priority queue by Eppstein (2002),

UNICOR Example Files: small_test.rsg - Sample resistance grid, small_test.xy - Sample point locations, small_test.rip - Sample run input parameters.

Requirements and Pre-requisite Software

Baseline Requirements: UNICOR requires the Python3 interpreter and the NumPy and SciPy package.

UNICOR Installation

  1. Unpack the UNICOR Archive: Navigate to the directory where you wish to install UNICOR, and unpack the supplied zip archive file.

  2. Install UNICOR: Next, install the UNICOR software itself by unpacking the zip archive supplied. At this point you should be able to execute the supplied test inputs (small_test.rsg and small_test.xy with small_test.rip).

Example UNICOR Run

The example run is for 10 points representing individuals on a Euclidean distance resistance surface. To run the following example, follow these steps:

  1. Double check the UNICOR source, UNICOR additional packages, and UNICOR example files are in the same directory.

  2. The included .rip file specifies the parameters that can be changed and used in the sample UNICOR run. Open example.rip in your editor of choice (e.g., notepad or wordpad).

  3. This file is the stanza format following RipMgr documentation. All '#' signs are comments followed by variable names with a tab to the parameter specified. The parameter can be changed for running UNICOR, but downloaded parameters will run as is. See table 1 for more details on each parameter along with its dependency.

  4. Start the program with a graphical interface or at the command line: For example, if you downloaded Python 3 from www.python.org, then you are provided with a graphical interface, IDLE. In Windows you can find IDLE from your Start menu > All Programs > Python 3.x > IDLE (Python GUI). Alternatively, if you use Python from the command line, then open a terminal window and change your shell directory to the UNICOR home directory.

  5. Run the program: There are a number of ways to run this program. For example, if you are using a command shell you can run the program by typing “python UNICOR.py example.rip”.

  6. Check for successful simulation run completion: The program will provide a log file in your UNICOR home directory. Once completed, output files will be created in UNICOR home directory.