We review simulation based approaches to optimal design, with an emphasis on problems
that cast optimal design as formal decision problems. Under this perspective we approach …

Questions of 'how best to acquire data'are essential to modelling and prediction in the
natural and social sciences, engineering applications, and beyond. Optimal experimental …

We consider the problem of evaluating the probability of discovering a certain number of
new species in a new sample of population units, conditional on the number of species …

We present a mathematical framework and computational methods for optimally designing a
finite sequence of experiments. This sequential optimal experimental design (sOED) …

While conservation planning requires good biodiversity data, our knowledge of most living
groups is scarce and patchy even in well-sampled regions. Therefore, we need …

The design of multiple experiments is commonly undertaken via suboptimal strategies, such
as batch (open-loop) design that omits feedback or greedy (myopic) design that does not …

We consider simulation-based methods for exploration and maximization of expected utility
in sequential decision problems. We consider problems which require backward induction …

This article introduces a numerical method for finding optimal or approximately optimal
decision rules and corresponding expected losses in Bayesian sequential decision …

Species sampling problems have a long history in ecological and biological studies and a
number of issues, including the evaluation of species richness, the design of sampling …

How reliable are results on spatial distribution of biodiversity based on databases? Many
studies have evidenced the uncertainty related to this kind of analysis due to sampling effort …