Isaac Planas Sitja

Hi! I'm Isaac (いざく), a biologist working at the interface of theoretical ecology and complex systems science. I studied Biodiversity at the Universitat de Barcelona (Spain), and obtained my PhD in 2017 from the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), where I began applying theoretical tools to study collective behaviour in insects. I have carried out postdoctoral research in various countries (USA, France, UK), and I have been based in Japan for about 5 years.

I use agent-based models and systems of differential equations, often combined with experimental or field data on insects and fish, to uncover the mechanisms by which animal groups coordinate and make decisions without centralised control. These insights deepen our understanding of self-organisation and information flow in biological systems, with applications to artificial swarm systems. Currently, I am particularly interested in developing predictive, mechanistic models to investigate how climate change and other human-induced disturbances shape collective behaviour and biodiversity.