Coupling equation based models and agent-based models: example of a multi-strains and switch SIR toy model

Modeling in ecol ogy or epidemiol ogy gener all y opposes tw o classes of models, Equa tion Based Models and Agent Based Models. Mathema tical models all ow predicting the longterm dynamics of the studied systems. How ever, the variability betw een individ uals is difficul t to represen t, wha t makes these more suitable models for larg e and homog eneous popula tions. Mul ti-agent models all ow represen ting the attributes and beha vior of each individ ual and theref ore provide a grea ter lev el of detail. In return, these systems are more difficul t to anal yze. These approaches have often been compared, but rarel y used sim ul taneousl y. We propose a hybrid approach to couple equa tions models and agent-based models, as well as its implemen tation on the modeling pla tform Gama [8]. We focus on the represen tation of a classical theoretical epidemiol ogical model (SIR model) and we ill ustr ate the construction of a class of models based on it. Receiv ed on 01 March 2016; accepted on 08 July 2016; published on 06 March 2017