Program, information processing device, and information processing method

Abstract

The present technology relates to a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method that are capable of providing a combination of species appropriate for constructing a target ecosystem. The present technology involves: constructing an interaction network representing an interaction between main species and sub species that serve as nodes for each of a plurality of combinations of species selected from among a plurality of species, the main species being species constructing the combination, the sub species being other species having an interaction with the main species; and determining a combination for presentation, which is a combination of species to be presented, according to an interaction network evaluation obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method. The present technology can be applied to an ecosystem support system that provides a combination of species appropriate for the ecosystem, for example.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present technology relates to a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method, and in particular to a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method that enable, for example, a combination of biological species appropriate for a target ecosystem to be provided. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of a technology that expands ecosystem functions by manipulating biodiversity is Synecoculture (registered trademark) (see Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] When expanding ecosystem functions by manipulating biodiversity, a method is needed to design (plan) the ecosystem so that interactions between organisms that enhance the desired ecosystem functions, such as those desired by users, are appropriately constructed.

[0004] As a method for designing ecosystems, for example, there is a method for optimally planting plants known as companion plants (see Non-Patent Document 2).

[0005] Companion planting is the practice of planting several different species of plants together in a way that creates a beneficial (biotic) interaction with one another.

[0006] On the other hand, when designing an ecosystem containing dozens or more diverse species, while it is possible to achieve a partially appropriate combination of species by applying conventional companion plants, achieving an overall appropriate combination of species requires examining a huge number of combinations, which is difficult for humans to do directly. For example, in the case of Synecoculture (registered trademark), there is an implementation example in which an ecosystem has been expanded to include more than 200 plant species.

[0007] Another method for designing ecosystems involves, for example, evaluating the compatibility of each plant species desired to be introduced into a field with the biological species currently existing in the field based on the interactions that occur between the plant species and the existing biological species (see Patent Document 1). Note that the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not anticipate the simultaneous design of appropriate combinations of a wide variety of biological species.

[0008] In order to design ecosystems that produce appropriate interactions among a wide variety of biological species, for example, interactions that enhance the desired ecosystem functions, a database containing comprehensive information describing the interactions is required.

[0009] Databases containing comprehensive interaction information are described in, for example, Non-Patent Documents 3 and 4.

[0010] An analysis tool utilizing Globi (Global Biotic Interactions) described in Non-Patent Document 3 makes it possible to search for organisms that interact with an input organism. Furthermore, analysis tools that utilize Globi can display the search results for biological species as networks with each species as a node (https: / / www.globalbioticinteractions.org). Displaying a network with each species as a node is useful for understanding the interactions that occur between species. However, analysis tools that utilize Globi can only display a network for the input of one biological species, and cannot accept the input of multiple biological species. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2016 / 039176 [Non-patent literature]

[0012] [Non-Patent Document 1] Funabashi, 2016, Synecoculture Practice Manual 2016 Edition, Sony Computer Science Laboratories (https: / / synecoculture.sonycsl.co.jp / public / 2016年度版%20協生農法実践マニュアル.pdf) [Non-Patent Document 2] Kijima, 2011, Control of Crop Diseases by Intercropping or Mixed Cropping with Allium Plants and Weeds, Weed Research Vol.56(1)14-18 [Non-Patent Document 3] Poelen, J. H., Simons, J. D., & Mungall, C. J. (2014). Global biotic interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics, 24,148-159. (https: / / doi.org / 10.1016 / j.ecoinf.2014.08.005) [Non-Patent Document 4] Parr, C. S., Wilson, N., Leary, P., Schulz, K., Lans, K., Walley, L., Hammock, J., Goddard, A., Rice, J., Studer, M., Holmes, J., & Corrigan, J.. R. (2014). The Encyclopedia of Life v2: Providing Global Access to Knowledge About Life on Earth. Biodiversity Data Journal, 2, e1079. (https: / / doi.org / 10.3897 / BDJ.2.e1079) [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0013] <By targeting multiple biological species and providing a combination of biological species appropriate for the desired ecosystem function, it is possible to support the design and construction of the desired ecosystem, i.e., an ecosystem in which the desired ecosystem function is exerted.

[0014] The present technology was developed in light of these circumstances, and makes it possible to provide a combination of biological species appropriate for a target ecosystem. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] The information processing device or first program of the present technology is an information processing device or a program for causing a computer to function as such an information processing device, which includes a determination unit that constructs an interaction network representing the interaction between a main biological species, which is the biological species that constitutes the combination, and a secondary biological species, which is another biological species that interacts with the main biological species, as nodes for each of multiple combinations of biological species selected from multiple biological species, and determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to present, based on an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method, or a program for causing a computer to function as such an information processing device.

[0016] The information processing method of the present technology is an information processing method that includes constructing an interaction network representing the interaction between a main biological species, which is the biological species that constitutes the combination, and a secondary biological species, which is another biological species that interacts with the main biological species, for each of multiple combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, using nodes as main biological species and secondary biological species, and determining a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to present, based on an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method.

[0017] In the information processing device, information processing method, and first program of the present technology, for each of multiple combinations of biological species selected from multiple biological species, an interaction network representing the interaction between the main biological species and the secondary biological species is constructed, with the main biological species that constitutes the combination and the secondary biological species that are other biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes, and a presented combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, is determined based on the evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method.

[0018] A second program of the present technology is a program for causing a computer to function as: a transmitting unit that transmits information on a plurality of biological species to an information processing device; and a display control unit that causes the information processing device to construct, for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from the plurality of biological species, an interaction network representing the interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with nodes being a main biological species that is the biological species that constitutes the combination and a secondary biological species that is another biological species that interacts with the main biological species; and, based on an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method, a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, is determined, and causes a presentation UI to be displayed on a display unit.

[0019] In a second program of the present technology, information on a plurality of biological species is transmitted to an information processing device, and the information processing device constructs an interaction network representing interactions between a main biological species that constitutes each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from the plurality of biological species, with nodes representing a main biological species that constitutes the combination and a secondary biological species that is another biological species that interacts with the main biological species, and evaluates the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method to obtain an interaction network, and determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to present, and displays a presentation UI presenting the obtained presentation combination.

[0020] The information processing devices may be independent devices or may be internal blocks that make up one device.

[0021] The program can be provided by transmitting it via a transmission medium or by recording it on a recording medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of an information processing system to which the present technology is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal 11. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a server 12. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a use case of the information processing system 10. [Figure 5] 2 is a block diagram showing a first example of a functional configuration of a terminal 11. FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server 12. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of processing of the information processing system 10. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a first exemplary configuration of a determination unit 52. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of evaluation method information representing an evaluation method for evaluating an interaction network. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the first configuration example of the determination unit 52. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a block diagram showing a second example of the functional configuration of the terminal 11. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a second exemplary configuration of the determination unit 52. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a third exemplary configuration of the determination unit 52. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of ranking of main species constituting the presented combinations by the ranking unit 111. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a presentation UI. [Figure 16] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation UI that is displayed when an operation is performed on the presentation UI. [Figure 17] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the information processing system 10 performed in response to a user's operation on a presentation combination presented in a presentation UI. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the processing of the information processing system 10. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an interaction network for an additional combination of a biological species selected from a plurality of biological species registered in the biological species list and a biological species registered in the additional list. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third example of processing by the information processing system 10. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of processing by the information processing system 10. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a presentation UI when a biological species list is automatically generated. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another display example of the presentation UI. [Figure 24] 1 is a diagram illustrating the process of updating interaction information in the database 13, which is performed in the information processing system 10. FIG. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a fourth exemplary configuration of the determination unit 52. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a fifth example of processing by the information processing system 10. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing interaction information used in a first specific example of determining a presentation combination. [Figure 28] This figure shows an interaction network constructed for a combination of four biological species: rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust. [Figure 29] FIG. 1 shows interaction paths explored from an interaction network. [Figure 30]This figure shows the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of all possible combinations of plant species generated from a list of registered biological species including rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing interaction information used in a second specific example of determining a presentation combination. [Figure 32] This figure shows the interaction network generated for the combination of the related biological species, bigfin reef squid, rabbitfish, moray eel, spiny lobster, and stonefish, plus the observed animal species, parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus. [Figure 33] This figure shows the interaction network generated for the combination of the related biological species moray eel and spiny lobster, plus the observed animal species parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus. [Figure 34] FIG. 10 shows the calculation results of predation inhibition scores. [Figure 35] This figure shows the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of the all possible combinations of zero or more related animal species generated from the biological species list, plus the observed animal species registered in the additional list. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] <One embodiment of an information processing system to which the present technology is applied>

[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an embodiment of an information processing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0025] The information processing system 10 constitutes an ecosystem support system that supports the design and construction of a target ecosystem by presenting a combination of biological species appropriate for the target ecosystem from among combinations of biological species such as plants, animals, and microorganisms.

[0026] The information processing system 10 includes one or more terminals 11-i, one or more servers 12, and a database 13. The terminals 11-i, the servers 12, and the database 13 can communicate with each other via a network 14, which may include a wired LAN (local area network), a wireless LAN, the Internet, a mobile communication network such as 5G, and the like.

[0027] 1, four terminals 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4 are provided as terminal 11-i, but the number of terminals 11-i may be one to three, or five or more. Hereinafter, terminals 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4 will be referred to as terminal 11 unless there is a particular need to distinguish between them.

[0028] 1, one server 12 is provided as the server 12, but multiple servers 12 can be provided. When multiple servers 12 are provided, the processes described below can be distributed among the multiple servers 12. Furthermore, multiple servers 12 can be assigned terminals 11 to be responsible for, and each server 12 can be made to perform processes only for the terminals 11 that it is responsible for.

[0029] Furthermore, in the information processing system 10, some or all of the processing performed by the server 12 can be performed by the terminal 11. When all of the processing performed by the server 12 is performed by the terminal 11, the information processing system 10 can be configured without the server 12.

[0030] The terminal 11 is configured, for example, as a personal computer (PC) or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and is operated by a user.

[0031] A user can operate terminal 11 in the area where they live, the area where they are building an ecosystem, or any other area, and input the names of multiple biological species that are candidates for introduction when building an ecosystem, as well as the evaluation method for evaluating the interaction network described below.

[0032] In Fig. 1, terminal 11-1 is located in area A1 where there is sea and beach, terminal 11-2 is located in area A2 where there are fields and gardens, terminal 11-3 is located in area A3 where there are urban spaces and exterior structures, and terminal 11-4 is located in area A4 where there are forests and deserts.

[0033] The terminal 11 transmits to the server 12 (via the network 14) information on the multiple biological species input in response to user operation, such as a biological species list in which the multiple biological species (names) are registered, evaluation method information indicating the evaluation method, and other necessary information.

[0034] The terminal 11 also receives, for example, an image as a presentation UI (user interface) that presents a combination of biological species appropriate for the target ecosystem, transmitted from the server 12 (via the network 14). The terminal 11 displays, for example, the presentation UI, thereby presenting the appropriate combination of biological species to the user.

[0035] The server 12 generates a plurality of combinations of one or more biological species by, for example, selecting one or more biological species from the plurality of biological species. For example, the server 12 receives a biological species list as information on the plurality of biological species transmitted from the terminal 11 (via the network 14). The server 12 then generates a plurality of combinations of biological species by selecting one or more biological species from the plurality of biological species registered in the biological species list from the terminal 11.

[0036] For each of multiple combinations of biological species, the server 12 constructs an interaction network (graph) that represents the interactions between the main biological species, which is the biological species that make up the combination, and the secondary biological species, which are other biological species that have (inter-biological) interactions such as prey-prey relationships, symbiotic relationships, and parasitic relationships with the main biological species, as nodes.

[0037] Furthermore, the server 12 evaluates the interaction network using an ecosystem-related evaluation method, and determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to the evaluation of the interaction network. For example, the server 12 receives evaluation method information transmitted from the terminal 11. Then, the server 12 evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information from the terminal 11, and determines a presentation combination according to the evaluation. For example, the server 12 determines a combination of main biological species for an interaction network with the best evaluation (first place) as the presentation combination. In addition, the server 12 can determine, for example, a combination of main biological species for an interaction network with an evaluation that is at or above a predetermined rank, or a combination of main biological species for an interaction network with an evaluation value above a threshold, as the presentation combination.

[0038] The server 12 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination and transmits it to the terminal 11 (via the network 14).

[0039] The server 12 references the database 13 (via the network 14) as needed and performs processing using the information stored in the database 13.

[0040] The database 13 stores big data as various information related to biological species. For example, the database 13 stores interaction information, biological taxonomy information, biological species name information, habitat information, and the like.

[0041] Interaction information is information that represents an interaction that occurs between two biological species (inter-organisms), and includes, for example, information on the two biological species that interact and the interaction that occurs between those two biological species.

[0042] The biological species name information is information that indicates the name of a biological species, and is, for example, information that associates the common name and scientific name of a biological species.

[0043] Habitat information is information that indicates the habitat of a biological species, and is, for example, information that associates a biological species with the habitat of that biological species (position information such as coordinates that indicate the range of that habitat).

[0044] Biological taxonomy information is information that indicates the classification (division) to which a biological species belongs when the biological species is classified according to some rule (hereinafter also referred to as biological taxonomy).

[0045] Examples of biological classification include classification based on phylogenetic trees, phylogenetic classification, and classification based on various attributes including the functions of organisms, such as functional classification. Functional classification is classification based on the functions of organisms, which include, for example, ecological functions such as pollinating specific plant species and physiological functions such as expressing specific compounds.

[0046] The database 13 (information stored therein) can be updated in response to input from the user. That is, the database 13 can be updated by information input by the user operating the terminal 11.

[0047] Here, interactions that occur between biological species include interactions that have a positive effect on the construction of the target ecosystem and interactions that have a negative effect. In constructing the target ecosystem, global optimization is required, taking into account the trade-off between interactions that have a positive effect on the construction of the target ecosystem and interactions that have a negative effect. To achieve global optimization, it is necessary to obtain an optimal or approximate solution to the combinatorial optimization problem for a huge number of combinations of biological species.

[0048] The information processing system 10 constructs an interaction network in the server 12 for various combinations of biological species by utilizing interaction information as big data stored in the database 13. Furthermore, the information processing system 10 evaluates the interaction networks for various combinations of biological species in the server 12 to find an appropriate combination of biological species as a solution. Any method can be used as a method for evaluating the interaction network and a calculation method (algorithm) for finding an appropriate combination as a solution.

[0049] In the information processing system 10, the server 12 uses the interaction network as described above to optimize the combination of biological species, i.e., to find an appropriate combination of biological species, thereby supporting the design and construction of an ecosystem consisting of a wide variety of biological species. In particular, the server 12 constructs an interaction network for each of multiple combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, and determines a presented combination from among multiple combinations of biological species selected from the plurality of biological species based on the evaluation of the interaction network. This makes it possible to support the construction of an ecosystem consisting of a wider variety of biological species than when an ecosystem is simply constructed using only a network representing the interactions between one biological species and that biological species. Furthermore, since the presented combination is a combination of main biological species, determining the presented combination based on the evaluation of the interaction network can be said to design a combination of main biological species that is appropriate for constructing a target ecosystem (a combination of main biological species with a good evaluation of the interaction network). Furthermore, the by-species that make up the interaction network for the proposed combination are biological species that interact with the main species that are appropriate for building the target ecosystem, so they can be said to be by-species that are appropriate for building the target ecosystem. Therefore, determining the proposed combination can be said to result in designing by-species that are appropriate for building the target ecosystem. Therefore, by determining the proposed combination based on the evaluation of the interaction network, it is possible to design main species and by-species that are appropriate for building the target ecosystem.

[0050] <Example of hardware configuration of terminal 11 and server 12>

[0051] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 11. As shown in FIG.

[0052] The terminal 11 has a communication unit 21, a calculation unit 22, an input / output unit 23, a storage 24, and a positioning unit 25. The communication unit 21 to the positioning unit 25 are interconnected via a bus, enabling the exchange of information.

[0053] The communication unit 21 functions as a transmitting unit that transmits information via the network 14 and as a receiving unit that receives information.

[0054] The calculation unit 22 has a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP), and executes programs recorded in the storage 24 to perform various processes.

[0055] The input / output unit 23 has a keyboard, a touch panel, a microphone, etc., and receives operations and other various inputs from the user. The input / output unit 23 also has a speaker and a display (display unit), and presents information to the user by outputting sound, displaying images, etc.

[0056] The storage 24 is composed of semiconductor memory such as RAM (random access memory) or nonvolatile memory, SSD (solid state drive), HDD (hard disk drive), etc. The storage 24 records (stores) programs executed by the calculation unit 22, data necessary for the processing of the calculation unit 22, etc.

[0057] The program executed by the calculation unit 22 can be installed in the computer serving as the terminal 11 from a removable recording medium such as a DVD (digital versatile disc) or a memory card. Alternatively, the program can be downloaded to the computer serving as the terminal 11 via the network 14 or the like and installed in the storage 24.

[0058] The positioning unit 25 constitutes, for example, a GPS (global positioning system), measures (locates) the position of the terminal 11, and outputs position information representing the position, for example, latitude and longitude (and necessary altitude).

[0059] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the server 12. As shown in FIG.

[0060] The server 12 has a communication unit 31, a calculation unit 32, an input / output unit 33, and a storage 34. The communication unit 31 to the storage 34 are configured in the same manner as the communication unit 21 to the storage 24 in Fig. 2, respectively, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Note that the communication unit 31 to the storage 34 may have higher performance than the communication unit 21 to the storage 24 in terms of capacity, processing speed, and other performance.

[0061] <Examples of use cases for Information Processing System 10>

[0062] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a use case of the information processing system 10. As shown in FIG.

[0063] In Figure 4, for example, a user is trying to introduce plant species (vegetation) in a field where an ecosystem is to be constructed (including expanded) in order to improve the species diversity of the soil microbial flora as the desired ecosystem function (to be realized).

[0064] In this case, the user operates the terminal 11 to input a plurality of candidate plant species to be introduced into the field and an evaluation method that gives a high evaluation to an improvement in the species diversity of the soil microflora.

[0065] The terminal 11 generates a biological species list in which multiple plant species are registered as candidates for introduction into the field input by the user's operation, and evaluation method information representing the evaluation method input by the user's operation, and transmits these to the server 12.

[0066] The server 12 receives the biological species list and evaluation method information from the terminal 11. The server 12 generates multiple combinations of one or more plant species selected from the multiple plant species registered in the plant species list. For each of the multiple combinations of plant species, the server 12 constructs an interaction network that represents the interaction between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with nodes representing the main biological species, which is the biological species (plant species) that make up the combination, and secondary biological species, which are other biological species that interact with the main biological species.

[0067] Furthermore, the server 12 evaluates the interaction network for each combination using the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information, and determines the combination with the best evaluation as the presented combination, which is the combination of plant species to be presented, according to the evaluation.

[0068] In this case, the interaction network is evaluated using an evaluation method that gives a high rating to an improvement in the species diversity of the soil microbiome, so the combination that improves the species diversity of the soil microbiome is determined to be the proposed combination.

[0069] The server 12 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination and transmits it to the terminal 11.

[0070] The terminal 11 receives and displays the presentation UI from the server 12, thereby presenting the presentation combination to the user.

[0071] In this case, the suggested combinations are combinations that improve the species diversity of the soil microbiome, and therefore, by presenting the suggested combinations, the user can recognize combinations of plant species that improve the species diversity of the soil microbiome. Then, by introducing such combinations of plant species into a field, the species diversity of the soil microbiome in the field can be improved (an ecosystem with improved species diversity of the soil microbiome can be constructed).

[0072] The information processing system 10 can present combinations that improve the species diversity of soil microbiota, as well as combinations of biological species that are suitable for exerting various other ecosystem functions.

[0073] For example, the information processing system 10 can present combinations of biological species that improve regulatory services.

[0074] For example, it is possible to propose a combination of species that suppress the activity and growth of pathogenic microorganisms. In this case, by introducing a combination of species that suppress pathogenic microorganisms, the impact of pathogenic microorganisms on species that contribute to regulating services can be reduced, thereby improving regulating services.

[0075] Furthermore, for example, it is possible to present a combination of species that suppresses the proliferation of harmful species. In this case, by introducing a combination of species that suppresses the proliferation of harmful species, it is possible to suppress the outbreak of invasive harmful species. This reduces the impact of harmful species on regulating services and improves the regulating services.

[0076] Additionally, for example, the information processing system 10 can present combinations of fish species that increase the diversity of cnidarians such as corals, jellyfish, and sea urchins, and seaweeds such as kelp and wakame seaweed, in a specified space (underwater). The presentation of combinations of fish species that increase the diversity of cnidarians and seaweeds can be useful for, for example, ecosystem-building aquaculture projects in the fisheries industry and for designing aquarium tanks with densely mixed species in aquariums.

[0077] <First Functional Configuration Example of Terminal 11>

[0078] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a first example of the functional configuration of the terminal 11. As shown in FIG.

[0079] The functional configuration of the terminal 11 is realized by the calculation unit 22 in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0080] In FIG. 5, the terminal 11 has a biological species list generation unit 41, an evaluation method information generation unit 42, a transmission unit 43, a reception unit 44, a display control unit 45, and a display unit 46.

[0081] The biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in which a plurality of biological species (names) are registered in response to, for example, a user's operation of the terminal 11, and supplies the list to the transmission unit 43.

[0082] The user can input any biological species as a biological species to be registered in the biological species list by operating the terminal 11. For example, the user can input a biological species that the user is trying to introduce into a habitat where the user is constructing or is about to construct an ecosystem, or a biological species that actually exists in the habitat, as a biological species to be registered in the biological species list.

[0083] Furthermore, the terminal 11 can be equipped with a sensor such as a camera, and the sensor can be used to sense the habitat etc. In this case, the biological species list generation unit 41 of the terminal 11 can recognize the biological species that actually exist in the habitat by performing processing such as image recognition on the sensing results of the sensor, and generate a biological species list in which the biological species are registered.

[0084] The evaluation method information generating unit 42 generates evaluation method information representing an evaluation method for evaluating the interaction network in the server 12 in response to, for example, a user's operation of the terminal 11 , and supplies the generated evaluation method information to the transmitting unit 43 .

[0085] The interaction network represents interactions between biological species, with each species being a node, and is constructed on the server 12 .

[0086] As an evaluation method for evaluating an interaction network, for example, an evaluation method that gives a high rating to an improvement in biodiversity can be adopted. Also, as an evaluation method, for example, an evaluation method that gives a high rating to the exertion of a target ecosystem function, such as an evaluation method that gives a high rating to the suppression of pathogenic microorganisms, or other evaluation methods related to ecosystems (evaluation methods that evaluate ecosystems) can be adopted.

[0087] By operating the terminal 11, the user can specify an evaluation method that is in line with the user's purpose, such as wanting to improve biodiversity.

[0088] The transmission unit 43 transmits various types of information to the server 12, the database 13, etc. For example, the transmission unit 43 transmits the biological species list from the biological species list generation unit 41 and the evaluation method information from the evaluation method information generation unit 42 to the server 12.

[0089] The receiving unit 44 receives various types of information from the server 12, the database 13, etc. For example, the receiving unit 44 receives a presentation UI transmitted from the server 12 and supplies it to the display control unit 45.

[0090] The display control unit 45 performs display control to display an image on the display unit 46. For example, the display control unit 45 causes the display unit 46 to display an image from the receiving unit 44 as a presentation UI.

[0091] The display unit 46 displays an image according to the display control of the display control unit 45 .

[0092] <Example of functional configuration of server 12>

[0093] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 12. As shown in FIG.

[0094] The functional configuration of the server 12 is realized by the calculation unit 32 in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0095] 6, the server 12 includes a receiving unit 51, a determining unit 52, a generating unit 53, and a transmitting unit .

[0096] The receiving unit 51 functions as an acquiring unit that acquires various types of information by receiving them from the terminal 11, the database 13, etc. For example, the receiving unit 51 receives a biological species list, evaluation method information, etc. transmitted from the terminal 11, and supplies them to the determining unit 52. The receiving unit 51 also receives interaction information, etc. from the database 13, and supplies them to the determining unit 52.

[0097] The determination unit 52 uses the information supplied from the receiving unit 51 to determine a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented.

[0098] The determining unit 52 generates a plurality of combinations of species by, for example, selecting one or more species from the plurality of species registered in the species list from the receiving unit 51.

[0099] The determination unit 52 uses the interaction information from the receiving unit 51 to construct an interaction network representing the interactions between the main biological species and the by-species for each of multiple combinations of biological species, with the main biological species that make up the combination and the by-species that interact with the main biological species as nodes.

[0100] The determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information from the receiving unit 51. The determination unit 52 determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, in accordance with the evaluation of the interaction network, and supplies the presentation combination to the generation unit 53.

[0101] The generation unit 53 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination from the determination unit 52, and supplies the UI to the transmission unit .

[0102] The transmission unit 54 transmits various types of information to the terminal 11, the database 13, etc. For example, the transmission unit 54 transmits the presented UI from the generation unit 53 to the terminal 11 that has transmitted the biological species list and evaluation method information used to generate the presented UI.

[0103] Here, it is assumed that the server 12 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination and transmits it to the terminal 11, and the terminal 11 receives and displays the presentation UI. However, the server 12 can transmit (information about) the presentation combination to the terminal 11 instead of the presentation UI, and the terminal 11 can receive the presentation combination, generate a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination, and display the presentation combination. In the following, it is assumed that the server 12 generates a presentation UI and transmits it to the terminal 11, and the terminal 11 receives and displays the presentation UI.

[0104] <First Example of Processing of Information Processing System 10>

[0105] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a first example of processing by the information processing system 10. As shown in FIG.

[0106] In the terminal 11 (FIG. 5), in step S11, the biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in response to user operations, etc., and supplies it to the transmission unit 43. Furthermore, in step S11, the evaluation method information generation unit 42 generates evaluation method information in response to user operations, and supplies it to the transmission unit 43.

[0107] In step S12, the transmission unit 43 transmits the biological species list and the evaluation method information to the server 12.

[0108] In the server 12 (FIG. 6), in step S21, the receiving unit 51 receives the biological species list and evaluation method information transmitted from the terminal 11, and supplies them to the determining unit 52.

[0109] In step S22, the receiving unit 51 accesses the database 13, receives necessary information, for example, interaction information including information on other biological species that interact (have) with the biological species registered in the biological species list, and supplies it to the determining unit 52.

[0110] In step S23, the determination unit 52 generates a plurality of combinations of biological species by selecting one or more biological species from the plurality of biological species registered in the biological species list. Furthermore, the determination unit 52 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for each of the plurality of combinations of biological species, with the main biological species that make up the combination and the secondary biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes.

[0111] The interaction network includes information on the main and secondary species (for example, the names of the species) and information on the interactions (for example, the names of the (types of) interactions).

[0112] The interaction network constructed for a combination of biological species can be said to represent the species community (group) that may be constructed when the combination of biological species is introduced, and the interactions between the species that make up that species community.

[0113] Therefore, constructing an interaction network for a combination of biological species can be said to predict the species community that may be constructed when that combination of biological species is introduced.

[0114] In step S23, the determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information, and determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, based on the evaluation, and supplies the presentation combination to the generation unit 53.

[0115] In step S24, the generation unit 53 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination received from the determination unit 52, and supplies the UI to the transmission unit .

[0116] For example, the generation unit 53 can generate, as the presentation UI, a name image that presents the names of the biological species that make up the presentation combination in a list format or the like, or a network image that presents an interaction network for the presentation combination. Furthermore, the generation unit 53 can generate, as the presentation UI, an image that includes both a name image and a network image.

[0117] In step S25, the transmission unit 54 transmits the presented UI to the terminal 11.

[0118] In the terminal 11 (FIG. 5), the receiving unit 44 receives the presented UI transmitted from the server 12 and supplies it to the display control unit 45 in step S13.

[0119] In step S14, the display control unit 45 causes the display unit 46 to display an image as the presented UI.

[0120] As described above, for each of the multiple combinations of biological species selected from the biological species list, the server 12 constructs an interaction network in which the nodes are the main biological species that make up the combination and the secondary biological species that interact with the main biological species, and determines the presented combination, which is the combination of biological species to present, based on the evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using the evaluation method for the ecosystem represented by the evaluation method information.

[0121] Therefore, it is possible to provide a combination of biological species that has a good evaluation of the ecosystem in the interaction network, that is, a combination of biological species that is suitable for constructing the desired ecosystem, from among the combinations of biological species registered in the biological species list.

[0122] For example, the user can cause the biological species list generation unit 41 to generate a biological species list in which only biological species that actually exist in the habitat where an ecosystem is to be constructed, or only biological species that are to be (or are to be) introduced into the habitat, are registered, by operating the terminal 11. Also, for example, the user can cause the biological species list generation unit 41 to generate a biological species list in which both biological species that actually exist in the habitat where an ecosystem is to be constructed and biological species that are to be introduced into the habitat are registered.

[0123] For example, if a species list is generated in which only species that actually exist in a habitat are registered, a combination of species selected from only species that already exist in the habitat is provided as a proposed combination. In this case, based on the proposed combination, an ecosystem can be constructed that makes the most of the current state of the habitat, for example, the plants, microflora, and other species that actually exist in the land or space that serves as the habitat.

[0124] The evaluation method for evaluating the interaction network can be preset in the server 12. When the interaction network is evaluated using the evaluation method preset in the server 12, there is no need to transmit evaluation method information from the terminal 11 to the server 12, and the terminal 11 can be configured without providing the evaluation method information generation unit 42.

[0125] <First Configuration Example of Determining Unit 52>

[0126] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a first example of the configuration of the determination unit 52 in FIG.

[0127] 8, the determination unit 52 includes a combination generation unit 71, a network construction unit 72, an evaluation unit 73, and a selection unit 74.

[0128] The combination generation unit 71 is supplied with a list of biological species from the receiving unit 51 .

[0129] The combination generation unit 71 generates a plurality of combinations of biological species (main biological species) to be searched for interactions from the biological species registered in the biological species list. For example, the combination generation unit 71 generates N combinations, which are all combinations of one or more biological species, to be searched for interactions from the biological species registered in the biological species list. The combination generation unit 71 supplies all N combinations of biological species to the network construction unit 72.

[0130] The network construction unit 72 is supplied with combinations of biological species from the combination generation unit 71 and also with interaction information from the reception unit 51 .

[0131] The network construction unit 72 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network representing the interactions that occur between the main biological species and the by-species for each of the N possible combinations of biological species from the combination generation unit 71, by searching for interactions that occur between the main biological species that make up the combination and other biological species, and by-species that are other biological species that interact with the main biological species.

[0132] For example, the network construction unit 72 sequentially selects noteworthy combinations from all N combinations of biological species from the combination generation unit 71. Then, the network construction unit 72 searches for interactions between the main biological species that make up the noteworthy combination and other biological species, and for secondary biological species that interact with the main biological species, using the interaction information. Furthermore, the network construction unit 72 constructs an interaction network consisting of nodes representing biological species (main biological species and secondary biological species) and links representing interactions between biological species (interactions between the main biological species and secondary biological species), and supplies the network to the evaluation unit 73.

[0133] The evaluation unit 73 is supplied with the interaction networks for each of the N combinations of biological species from the network construction unit 72 , and is also supplied with evaluation method information from the reception unit 51 .

[0134] The evaluation unit 73 sets an evaluation method for evaluating the interaction network in accordance with evaluation method information from the terminal 11 as external input, and evaluates the interaction network for each of the N combinations of biological species using that evaluation method.

[0135] For example, the evaluation unit 73 sets a calculation formula for the evaluation score according to the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information, and calculates the evaluation score of the interaction network according to the calculation formula. Note that here, the larger the evaluation score, the better the evaluation.

[0136] The evaluation unit 73 supplies the selection unit 74 with the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of all N combinations of biological species.

[0137] The selection unit 74 detects the best evaluation score (maximum value) from the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of all N combinations of biological species from the evaluation unit 73. The selection unit 74 selects the combination for the interaction network that has obtained the best evaluation score from all N combinations of biological species, determines it as the presented combination, and supplies it to the generation unit 53 (FIG. 6).

[0138] As described above, the determination unit 52 generates multiple combinations of biological species, for example, a total of N combinations, from the biological species registered in the biological species list, and determines the combination with the best evaluation score of the interaction network from all N combinations as the presented combination.

[0139] In this case, from among any combinations of multiple biological species input by the user by operating terminal 11, the combination that provides the best evaluation of the ecosystem obtained by the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information is determined to be the presented combination.

[0140] Therefore, the presented combination can provide the best combination of ecosystem evaluations obtained using the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information from among the multiple biological species that the user is planning to introduce into the habitat.

[0141] In addition, by explicitly presenting the proposed combinations to users, users are given an incentive to actively (proactively) introduce the proposed combinations. Furthermore, by actually introducing the species that make up the proposed combinations, the desired ecosystem can be efficiently constructed.

[0142] <Evaluation method information>

[0143] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of evaluation method information representing an evaluation method for evaluating an interaction network.

[0144] In the terminal 11 (FIG. 5), the evaluation method information generating unit 42 generates evaluation method information representing an evaluation method for evaluating an interaction network in response to an operation of the terminal 11 by a user.

[0145] In the server 12 (FIG. 8), the evaluation unit 73 sets the evaluation method of the interaction network to the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information, and evaluates the interaction network using that evaluation method.

[0146] Therefore, by operating the terminal 11, the user can specify an evaluation method for obtaining a combination of biological species appropriate for (constructing) a target ecosystem.

[0147] For example, it is possible to specify an evaluation method that evaluates according to the number of by-product species (species diversity) in the interaction network, or the number of biological species with a specific attribute in the interaction network.It is also possible to specify an evaluation method that evaluates according to the density (number of links) of the interaction network, or the number of interactions of a specific type in the interaction network.

[0148] In evaluating the interaction network, the evaluation unit 73 refers to necessary information stored in the database 13 depending on the evaluation method information.

[0149] For example, if the evaluation method information represents an evaluation method that performs evaluation according to the number of biological species having a specific attribute in the interaction network, the evaluation unit 73 refers to the biological taxonomy information stored in the database 13. As a result, the evaluation unit 73 recognizes the attributes of the biological species that make up the interaction network and counts the number of biological species having the specific attribute in the interaction network. Then, the evaluation unit 73 evaluates the interaction network according to the number of biological species having the specific attribute.

[0150] In the evaluation unit 73, when the evaluation method of the interaction network is set, for example, a formula for calculating the evaluation score according to the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information is set.

[0151] For example, if a user operates terminal 11 to input that the purpose of building an ecosystem is to ensure the safety of human health, evaluation method information generation unit 42 generates evaluation method information that represents an evaluation method that will receive a higher evaluation the fewer specific microbial species that cause health harm, such as pathogenic microorganisms, there are, in order to ensure the safety of human health.

[0152] The evaluation unit 73 sets a calculation formula that calculates a larger evaluation score the fewer the specific microbial species, according to the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information, and calculates the evaluation score of the interaction network according to the calculation formula.

[0153] <Processing of the first configuration example of the determination unit 52>

[0154] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing performed by the first configuration example of the determining unit 52. In FIG.

[0155] In the determination unit 52 (Figure 8), in step S31, the combination generation unit 71 generates multiple combinations of one or more biological species (main biological species) to be searched for interactions from the biological species registered in the biological species list from the terminal 11, and supplies them to the network construction unit 72.

[0156] In Figure 10, species A, B, C, ... are registered in the species list, and all possible combinations of one or more species are generated from the species A, B, C, ... registered in such species list. That is, a total of N possible combinations of species are generated, including combination #1 of only species A, ..., combinations #n of species A to C, ...

[0157] In step S32, the network construction unit 72 uses the interaction information from the database 13 to construct an interaction network for each of the N combinations of biological species from the combination generation unit 71.

[0158] In the interaction information, two biological species, that is, a biological species and another biological species that interacts with that biological species, are associated with the interaction that occurs between the two biological species.

[0159] In Figure 10, interaction information indicating that biological species A is in a parasitic relationship with another biological species a, that biological species A is in a symbiotic relationship with another biological species b, or that biological species A is in a growth-inhibitory relationship with another biological species c, etc., is stored in database 13.

[0160] The network construction unit 72 sequentially selects a combination of interest from all N combinations of biological species from the combination generation unit 71. Furthermore, the network construction unit 72 uses the interaction information to search for interactions that occur between the main biological species that make up the combination of interest and other biological species, and for by-species that interact with the main biological species.

[0161] Then, the network construction unit 72 constructs an interaction network consisting of nodes representing biological species (main biological species and secondary biological species) and links representing interactions between biological species (interactions between the main biological species and secondary biological species), and supplies it to the evaluation unit 73.

[0162] In Figure 10, for example, for combination #1 containing only main biological species A, an interaction network is constructed in which the node of main biological species A is connected to each of the nodes of secondary biological species a to c that interact with main biological species A by links representing interactions. Here, in Figure 10, the nodes of the main biological species are represented by black circles, and the nodes of secondary biological species are represented by white circles. This is the same in the subsequent figures.

[0163] In Figure 10, for example, for a combination #n of biological species A to C, an interaction network is constructed in which the node of the main biological species A is connected by links to each of the nodes of secondary biological species a to c that interact with the main biological species A. Furthermore, in Figure 10, an interaction network is constructed in which the node of the main biological species B is connected by links to each of the nodes of secondary biological species c to f and C that interact with the main biological species B.

[0164] In addition, in the combination #n of biological species A to C, the main biological species B and C interact with each other and are also secondary biological species, which are other biological species that interact with the main biological species.

[0165] In addition, although the network construction unit 72 here searches for by-product species that directly interact with the main biological species, the network construction unit 72 can also search for other by-product species, for example, that indirectly interact with the main biological species.

[0166] That is, the network constructing unit 72 can search for by-product species that directly interact with the main species, as well as other species that directly interact with the by-product species.

[0167] However, if by-product species that indirectly interact with the main biological species are also searched for, the size of the interaction network and, ultimately, the computational costs required for processing will become enormous. Therefore, whether or not to search for by-product species that indirectly interact with the main biological species can be determined taking into account the computational costs required for processing.

[0168] In the following, when constructing an interaction network, we will search for by-product species that directly interact with the main biological species, but will not search for by-product species that indirectly interact with the main biological species.

[0169] In step S33, the evaluation unit 73 sets a calculation formula for the evaluation score in accordance with the evaluation method information from the terminal 11. Then, the evaluation unit 73 calculates the evaluation score of the interaction network for each of all N combinations of biological species in accordance with the calculation formula and supplies it to the selection unit 74.

[0170] In Figure 10, a calculation formula is set to calculate the diversity of other biological species that interact with the main biological species in the interaction network, i.e., the number of secondary biological species (number of white circles), as an evaluation score, and the evaluation score is calculated according to that calculation formula.

[0171] In step S34, the selection unit 74 detects the best evaluation score from the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of all N combinations of biological species from the evaluation unit 73. The selection unit 74 selects the combination for the interaction network that has obtained the best evaluation score from all N combinations of biological species, and determines it as the presented combination.

[0172] In FIG. 10, the evaluation score of the interaction network for the combination #n of biological species A to C is the best, and the combination #n of biological species A to C is determined to be the presented combination.

[0173] <Second Functional Configuration Example of Terminal 11>

[0174] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a second example of the functional configuration of the terminal 11. As shown in FIG.

[0175] In the figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 5 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted below as appropriate.

[0176] In FIG. 11, the terminal 11 has a species list generation unit 41 through a display unit 46, and a restriction information generation unit 81.

[0177] Therefore, the terminal 11 in Figure 11 is similar to the case in Figure 5 in that it is provided with a biological species list generation unit 41 to a display unit 46, but differs from the case in Figure 5 in that it is newly provided with a restriction information generation unit 81.

[0178] The restriction information generating unit 81 generates restriction information in response to, for example, a user's operation of the terminal 11 and supplies the generated restriction information to the transmitting unit 43.

[0179] Therefore, in Figure 11, the transmitting unit 43 transmits the restriction information from the restriction information generating unit 81 to the server 12, as well as the biological species list from the biological species list generating unit 41 and the evaluation method information from the evaluation method information generating unit 42.

[0180] The restriction information is information that restricts the construction of an interaction network.

[0181] The restriction information may be, for example, information that restricts one or both of the main biological species that is the target of interaction search and the secondary biological species that are the target of search as other biological species that interact with the main biological species. For example, information that indicates the biological taxonomy of biological species that are or are not the target of search may be used as the restriction information.

[0182] In the server 12, one or both of the main biological species and secondary biological species to be searched are restricted to biological species belonging to the biological taxonomy represented by the restriction information, or to biological species other than those belonging to the biological taxonomy represented by the restriction information.

[0183] For example, if the restriction information indicates that the main species (the species that make up the combination) targeted for interaction search is to be limited to plant species, the species (main species) used in the combination of species is limited to plant species among the species registered in the species list. In this case, the combination of species is generated using only plant species among the species registered in the species list.

[0184] Furthermore, for example, if the restriction information indicates that by-product species to be searched for as other biological species that interact with the main biological species are limited to biological species other than microbial species, the other biological species (by-product species) used to construct the interaction network are limited to biological species other than microbial species. In this case, the interaction network is constructed using only biological species other than microbial species as by-product species.

[0185] In addition, information that restricts interactions can be used as the restriction information. For example, information that represents interactions that are permitted or prohibited from being used to construct an interaction network can be used as the restriction information.

[0186] An interaction that the restriction information permits to be used in constructing an interaction network is also called a permitted interaction, and an interaction that the restriction information prohibits to be used in constructing an interaction network is also called a prohibited interaction.

[0187] In the server 12, interactions used to construct an interaction network are limited to only permitted interactions or only interactions other than prohibited interactions according to the restriction information.

[0188] <Second Configuration Example of Determining Unit 52>

[0189] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a second example of the configuration of the determination unit 52 in FIG.

[0190] FIG. 12 shows an example of the configuration of the determination unit 52 when the terminal 11 is configured as shown in FIG.

[0191] In the figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted below as appropriate.

[0192] 12, the determination unit 52 includes an evaluation unit 73, a selection unit 74, a combination generation unit 91, and a network construction unit 92.

[0193] 12 is the same as the case of Fig. 8 in that it is provided with an evaluation unit 73 and a selection unit 74. However, the determination unit 52 of Fig. 12 is different from the case of Fig. 8 in that it is provided with a combination generation unit 91 and a network construction unit 92 instead of the combination generation unit 71 and the network construction unit 72, respectively.

[0194] 12, a receiving unit 51 of the server 12 receives the biological species list and evaluation method information from the terminal 11, as well as restriction information, and supplies these to a determining unit 52. Furthermore, the receiving unit 51 receives interaction information from the database 13, as well as biological classification information, and supplies these to the determining unit 52.

[0195] The combination generation unit 91 is similar to the combination generation unit 71 in that it generates combinations of species from the species registered in the species list. However, the combination generation unit 91 differs from the combination generation unit 71 in that it restricts the main species that make up the combinations in accordance with restriction information.

[0196] For example, the combination generation unit 91 recognizes the taxonomy of the species registered in the species list using the taxonomy information. The combination generation unit 91 deletes from the species list any species that belong to the taxonomy indicated by the restriction information or to a taxonomy other than the taxonomy indicated by the restriction information.

[0197] The combination generation unit 91 generates combinations of biological species using a biological species list after deleting biological species of the biological classification represented by the restriction information or biological classifications other than the biological classification represented by the restriction information, and supplies the combinations to the network construction unit 92.

[0198] This limits the main biological species that make up the combination, i.e., the targets for interaction search in the subsequent network construction unit 92, to biological classifications other than the biological classification represented by the restriction information, or to biological species that belong to the biological classification represented by the restriction information.

[0199] In addition, the restriction information can include instructions on whether to delete from the biological species list biological species that belong to the biological classification represented by the restriction information, or biological species that belong to a biological classification other than the biological classification represented by the restriction information.

[0200] The network construction unit 92 is similar to the network construction unit 72 in that it uses interaction information to search for interactions occurring in the main species that make up the combination of main species from the combination generation unit 91, and for by-species that interact with the main species, and constructs an interaction network. However, the network construction unit 92 differs from the network construction unit 72 in that it limits the by-species to be searched for in accordance with restriction information.

[0201] The network construction unit 92 searches for secondary biological species that interact with the main biological species that make up the combination, excluding biological species that belong to the biological classification represented by the restriction information or to a biological classification other than the biological classification represented by the restriction information.

[0202] This restricts by-product species to only those species that belong to a biological taxonomy other than the biological taxonomy represented by the restriction information, or to only those species that belong to the biological taxonomy represented by the restriction information.

[0203] In addition, when searching for by-product species, the restriction information can include instructions on whether to exclude biological species belonging to the biological classification represented by the restriction information, or to exclude biological species belonging to a biological classification other than the biological classification represented by the restriction information.

[0204] After searching for by-product species in the above manner, the network construction unit 92 constructs an interaction network with the main biological species and by-product species as nodes, and supplies the network to the evaluation unit 73 .

[0205] As described above, in the server 12, one or both of the main biological species and by-product species to be searched for are restricted according to the restriction information generated in response to user operations. This allows the user to restrict the main biological species and by-product species to be searched for according to the plan, situation, feasibility, availability of biological species, etc. for constructing the desired ecosystem. As a result, it is possible to obtain flexible presented combinations that are suited to on-site operations in constructing the ecosystem.

[0206] For example, by limiting either or both of the main and secondary species to species in the biological classification (functional classification) of "highly mobile," it is possible to expect to obtain a suitable presentation combination for constructing a biota with high habitat connectivity with the surrounding ecosystem.

[0207] 12, it is assumed that the restriction information is information that restricts one or both of the main and sub-species to be searched for. However, as described in FIG. 11, the restriction information can be information that indicates permitted interactions or prohibited interactions.

[0208] If the restriction information represents permitted interactions or prohibited interactions, the network construction unit 92 limits the interactions used to construct the interaction network to only permitted interactions or only interactions other than prohibited interactions, depending on the restriction information.

[0209] <Third Configuration Example of Determining Unit 52>

[0210] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a third example configuration of the determination unit 52 of FIG.

[0211] In the figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted below as appropriate.

[0212] 13, the determination unit 52 includes a combination generation unit 71 to a selection unit 74 and a ranking unit 111.

[0213] Therefore, the determination unit 52 in Fig. 13 is common to the case in Fig. 8 in that it is provided with a combination generation unit 71 to a selection unit 74. However, the determination unit 52 in Fig. 13 differs from the case in Fig. 8 in that it is newly provided with a ranking unit 111.

[0214] In FIG. 13, a receiving unit 51 of the server 12 receives interaction information from the database 13 as well as organism taxonomy information, and supplies the information to a determining unit 52 .

[0215] The ranking unit 111 is supplied with the evaluation method information from the terminal 11 and the organism taxonomy information from the database 13 from the receiving unit 51, and is also supplied with the interaction network for the presented combination from the selecting unit 74.

[0216] The ranking unit 111 ranks the main species that make up the displayed combinations according to the interaction network for the displayed combinations.

[0217] Here, the evaluation method information from the terminal 11 can include information indicating the evaluation method for evaluating the interaction network, as well as information indicating the ranking method for ranking the main biological species that make up the presented combinations.

[0218] The evaluation method information including information representing the ranking method can be generated by the evaluation method information generating unit 42 in response to an operation of the terminal 11 by the user, for example.

[0219] As a ranking method, for example, a method can be adopted in which higher centrality is assigned to a higher rank according to the centrality in the interaction network of the main biological species to be ranked.

[0220] There are three types of centrality in interaction networks: betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and degree centrality. Degree centrality is expressed as the degree of a node, i.e., the number of links directly connected to the node. Closeness centrality is expressed as the average distance from a node to each of the other nodes. The distance between two nodes is expressed as the number of links traversed when taking the shortest path connecting those two nodes. Betweenness centrality is expressed as the proportion of shortest paths that pass through the node of interest among the shortest paths connecting two nodes other than the node of interest.

[0221] Furthermore, as a ranking method, for example, a method can be adopted in which the higher the number of by-product species that have a specific type of interaction with the main biological species being ranked, the higher the ranking.

[0222] Furthermore, as a ranking method, for example, a method can be adopted in which the higher the number of by-product species in a specific biological classification that interacts with the main biological species being ranked, the higher the ranking.

[0223] Other ranking methods include, for example, a method of ranking according to whether a specific interaction occurs directly or indirectly between the main biological species being ranked and other biological species in a specific biological taxonomy. For example, a method can be adopted in which the more cases there are of interactions that directly or indirectly suppress the growth of pathogenic microorganisms, the higher the ranking.

[0224] When a ranking method is adopted in which ranking is performed according to the number of by-product species of a specific biological taxonomy that have interactions with the main biological species being ranked, the ranking unit 111 uses biological taxonomy information to recognize the biological taxonomy of the by-product species.

[0225] The user can specify a desired ranking method by operating the terminal 11. For example, if the user wants to recognize the importance of a main biological species in an interaction network, the user can specify a ranking method in which the higher the centrality in the interaction network, the higher the ranking.

[0226] The ranking unit 111 supplies the selection unit 74 with ranking information indicating the ranking of the main biological species obtained by ranking the main biological species that make up the presented combinations.

[0227] The selection unit 74 supplies the presented combinations together with the ranking information from the ranking unit 111 to the generation unit 53 (FIG. 6).

[0228] In this case, the generation unit 53 can generate a presentation UI (hereinafter also referred to as a ranked presentation UI) that presents the presentation combination so that the ranking indicated by the ranking information of the main biological species that make up the presentation combination can be recognized.

[0229] The ranking method can be set in advance in the server 12, and the ranking unit 111 can perform ranking using the ranking method set in advance in the server 12.

[0230] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of ranking of the main species that make up the presented combinations by the ranking unit 111.

[0231] In Figure 14, the presented combination is a combination of main biological species A to C. For the presented combination, an interaction network is constructed in which the node of main biological species A is connected by links to each of the nodes of secondary biological species a to c that interact with main biological species A. Furthermore, an interaction network is constructed in which the node of main biological species B is connected by links to each of the nodes of secondary biological species c to f and C that interact with main biological species B.

[0232] In FIG. 14, ranking is performed according to degree centrality in the interaction network, and the main species A to C that make up the presented combinations are ranked.

[0233] The degree centralities of main species A to C, i.e., the number of links they have, are 3, 5, and 1, respectively. In order of the number of links, main species B ranks first, main species A ranks second, and main species C ranks third.

[0234] As the ranked presentation UI, for example, a network image presenting an interaction network for the presented combination and an image presenting the ranking of the main biological species, as shown in FIG. 14, can be adopted.

[0235] Alternatively, as a ranked presentation UI, for example, an image in which the ranking of the main species is assigned near the node of the main species in the interaction network for the presented combination can be used.

[0236] The ranked presentation UI is transmitted from the transmitter 54 to the terminal 11 and displayed, allowing the user to recognize, for example, the importance and effectiveness of the main biological species in constructing the target ecosystem. Then, the user can decide on the actions to be taken in constructing the ecosystem according to the importance of the main biological species, and can confirm the appropriateness of the actions (management) taken in constructing the ecosystem.

[0237] For example, when there are many main species that make up the proposed combination, i.e., the number of appropriate main species that should be introduced to construct the target ecosystem, and it is difficult to introduce all of the main species that make up the proposed combination from the viewpoint of budget, etc., it is possible to determine the main species to be introduced in descending order within the budget. Alternatively, it is possible to determine that the higher the rank of the main species, the greater the number of individuals to be introduced.

[0238] Also, for example, if some of the main biological species that make up the presented combination have already been introduced, and the ranking of the already introduced main biological species is high, it can be confirmed that the introduction of that main biological species would have been more appropriate.

[0239] <Presentation UI>

[0240] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of the presentation UI.

[0241] In FIG. 15, a name image and a network image are shown as presented UIs.

[0242] In the name image, the names of the species registered in the species list are listed vertically, and the species that make up the presented combinations are marked with a circle. Furthermore, the name image has a selection field for selecting the species that will be components of the interaction network.

[0243] The selection field can be, for example, a UI such as a check box, a radio button, a toggle switch, etc. In Fig. 15, a check box is used as the selection field, and a check mark is placed on the biological species that are components of the interaction network.

[0244] The network image is an image of the interaction network constructed for the presented combination. In Figure 15, the combination of biological species A to C is the presented combination, and a network image of the interaction network constructed for such a presented combination is displayed.

[0245] In the interaction network, the node of the main species A is connected by links to each of the nodes of the sub-species a through c that interact with the main species A. Furthermore, the node of the main species B is connected by links to each of the nodes of the sub-species c through f and C that interact with the main species B.

[0246] The displayed UI can be used to perform operations such as species selection, filtering, and clustering.

[0247] The operation of selecting a biological species is, for example, an operation of individually selecting or deselecting a biological species to be a component of a presented combination by adding or deleting a check mark to a check box.

[0248] A filtering operation is an operation for selecting biological species with a specific attribute, such as trees, in a group when selecting biological species to be used as components of a presentation combination. The filtering operation can include an operation to instruct the addition or removal of the biological species with the attribute selected in the filtering operation to the components of the presentation combination.

[0249] For example, when a user performs a filtering operation to remove biological species with tree attributes, the presentation UI presents a network image of the interaction network for the combination of biological species with the tree attribute removed from the presented combination.

[0250] The clustering operation is an operation for clustering and presenting biological species of a specific attribute in the presentation UI. For example, when a user specifies tree as a specific attribute and performs a clustering operation, the tree biological species is presented in a color (e.g., red) different from other biological species in the presentation UI.

[0251] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display example of the presentation UI that is displayed when an operation is performed on the presentation UI.

[0252] When a user performs an operation on a presentation combination presented in the presentation UI, an interaction network for the presentation combination after the operation is reconstructed in accordance with the operation in the server 12. Then, a presentation UI presenting the reconstructed interaction network (presentation combination after the operation) is generated, transmitted from the server 12 to the terminal 11, and displayed.

[0253] FIG. 16 shows an example of a display of a presentation UI that presents the reconstructed interaction network displayed as described above.

[0254] That is, Figure 16 shows a presentation UI that presents the reconstructed interaction network when a selection operation is performed to deselect biological species B, which is a component of the presentation combination presented in the presentation UI of Figure 15.

[0255] In the presentation UI of FIG. 16, the check mark for species B in the name image is removed in response to the selection operation to deselect species B.

[0256] Furthermore, the presentation UI in FIG. 16 presents a network image of the interaction network reconstructed for the combination of biological species A and C, which is the combination presented after the selection operation.

[0257] As described above, in response to the user's operation on the presentation combination presented in the presentation UI, an interaction network for the presentation combination after the operation is reconstructed. Then, a presentation UI presenting the reconstructed interaction network is generated and displayed.

[0258] Therefore, the user can interactively change the species that make up the presented combination and check the interaction network for the changed presented combination, which helps the user understand the matters expressed in the interaction network, such as the interactions that occur directly or indirectly between species, and the species that are directly or indirectly affected by the interactions.

[0259] Furthermore, for example, the user can compare the UI presented when the combination of biological species A to C in Fig. 15 is the presented combination with the UI presented when biological species B is not included in the presented combination in Fig. 16. This allows the user to accurately understand the impact of introducing or not introducing biological species B.

[0260] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the information processing system 10 performed in response to a user's operation on a presentation combination presented in the presentation UI.

[0261] In the terminal 11 (Figure 5) (Figure 11), in step S41, the biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in which the biological species that make up the presentation combination after the operation are registered, in response to a user's operation on the presentation combination presented in the presentation UI, and supplies the list to the transmission unit 43.

[0262] In step S42, the transmission unit 43 transmits the biological species list to the server 12.

[0263] In the server 12 (FIG. 6), the receiving unit 51 receives the biological species list transmitted from the terminal 11 and supplies it to the determining unit 52 in step S51.

[0264] In step S52, the receiving unit 51 accesses the database 13 to receive necessary information such as interaction information, and supplies the information to the determining unit 52, similarly to step S22 in FIG.

[0265] In step S53, the determination unit 52 reconstructs an interaction network for combinations whose components are biological species registered in the biological species list, i.e., the combinations presented after the user's operation, and supplies the reconstructed interaction network to the generation unit 53.

[0266] In step S54, the generation unit 53 generates a new presentation UI that includes an interaction network for the presentation combination after the operation, i.e., a network image of the reconstructed interaction network from the determination unit 52, as a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination after the user's operation, and supplies it to the transmission unit 54.

[0267] In step S55, the transmission unit 54 transmits the new presentation UI to the terminal 11.

[0268] In the terminal 11, the receiving unit 44 receives the new presentation UI transmitted from the server 12 and supplies it to the display control unit 45 in step S43.

[0269] In step S44, the display control unit 45 causes the display unit 46 to display an image as a new presented UI, that is, a name image of the presented combination after the user's operation and a network image of the interaction network for the presented combination.

[0270] In the information processing system 10, the above processing is performed every time an operation is performed on a presentation combination presented in the presentation UI.

[0271] Therefore, every time the user performs an operation on the presented combination presented in the presentation UI, an interaction network for the presented combination after the operation is reconstructed, and a presentation UI presenting the reconstructed interaction network, etc. is displayed.

[0272] This allows the user to interactively check the interaction network of the biological species that make up the presented combination after the change.

[0273] <Second Example of Processing of Information Processing System 10>

[0274] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the processing of the information processing system 10. In FIG.

[0275] In the terminal 11 (Figure 5) (Figure 11), in step S71, similar to step S11 in Figure 7, the biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in response to user operation, and the evaluation method information generation unit 42 generates evaluation method information.

[0276] Furthermore, in step S71, the biological species list generation unit 41 generates an additional list in response to user operations and the like.

[0277] The additional list is a list in which biological species to be added to multiple combinations of biological species selected from the biological species list are registered, and is generated, for example, in the biological species list generation unit 41 in response to user operation, similar to the biological species list.

[0278] The user can specify any biological species as the biological species to be registered in the additional list by operating the terminal 11. For example, the user can specify a biological species that actually exists in the same location, such as a biological species that actually exists in a habitat where a target ecosystem is being constructed or is being constructed, as the biological species to be registered in the additional list.

[0279] Furthermore, the terminal 11 can be equipped with a sensor such as a camera that senses biological species, and the sensor can sense habitats, etc. In this case, the biological species list generation unit 41 of the terminal 11 can recognize biological species that actually exist in habitats by performing image recognition or other processing on the sensor's sensing results, and generate an additional list in which the biological species are registered.

[0280] When using the additional list, the user can operate terminal 11 so that, for example, the biological species to be introduced into the habitat are registered in the biological species list, and the biological species that actually exist in the habitat are registered in the additional list.

[0281] The biological species list and additional list generated by the biological species list generation unit 41 and the evaluation method information generated by the evaluation method information generation unit 42 are supplied to a transmission unit 43.

[0282] In step S72, the transmission unit 43 transmits the biological species list, the additional list, and the evaluation method information to the server 12.

[0283] In the server 12 (FIG. 6), in step S81, the receiving unit 51 receives the biological species list, the additional list, and the evaluation method information transmitted from the terminal 11, and supplies them to the determining unit 52.

[0284] In step S82, the receiving unit 51 accesses the database 13 to receive necessary information such as interaction information, as in step S22 of FIG.

[0285] In step S83, the determination unit 52 generates a plurality of combinations of biological species by selecting biological species from a plurality of biological species registered in the biological species list. Then, the determination unit 52 generates a plurality of additional combinations of biological species by adding a biological species registered in the additional list to each of the plurality of combinations of biological species.

[0286] If an additional list exists, the combinations of species generated from the species list can include a combination of 0 species, i.e., an empty set. In this case, the additional combinations will be combinations of only species registered in the additional list.

[0287] The determination unit 52 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for each of multiple additional combinations of biological species, with the main biological species that make up the additional combination and the secondary biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes.

[0288] The determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information, and determines a presentation combination from among a plurality of additional combinations according to the evaluation, and supplies the combination to the generation unit 53.

[0289] In addition, the determination unit 52 can determine the additional combination as the presented combination, or can determine the additional combination excluding the biological species registered in the additional list, that is, the combination generated from the biological species list, as the presented combination.

[0290] Thereafter, in the server 12, in steps S84 and S85, the same processes as in steps S24 and S25 in FIG. 7 are performed, respectively.

[0291] In addition, in the terminal 11, in steps S73 and S74, the same processes as in steps S13 and S14 in FIG. 7 are performed, respectively.

[0292] As a result of the above, a presentation UI is displayed on terminal 11, which presents a presentation combination determined from multiple additional combinations in which a biological species registered in the additional list is added to multiple combinations of biological species selected from multiple biological species registered in the biological species list.

[0293] FIG. 19 shows an example of an interaction network for an additional combination in which a species registered in the additional list is added to a combination of species selected from a plurality of species registered in the species list.

[0294] For example, it is assumed that three biological species A to C are registered in the biological species list, and three biological species α to γ ​​are registered in the additional list.

[0295] Figure 19 shows the interaction networks for each of the two addition combinations.

[0296] The first additional combination is a combination of only one biological species A registered in the biological species list, plus three biological species α to γ ​​registered in the additional list.

[0297] Here, in addition to the biological species that make up a combination of biological species selected from the biological species registered in the biological species list, the biological species that make up an additional combination by adding a biological species registered in the additional list to that combination are also referred to as the main biological species, as appropriate.

[0298] In the interaction network for the first additional combination, the node of the main species A is connected by links to the nodes of the secondary species a to c, which interact with the main species A, and α.

[0299] Furthermore, the node of the main biological species β is connected by a link to the node of the by-product species B that interacts with the main biological species β, and the node of the main biological species γ is connected by a link to the node of the by-product species C that interacts with the main biological species γ.

[0300] In FIG. 19, the nodes of the species registered in the addition list are represented by shaded circles.

[0301] Species B and C, which are secondary species in the interaction network for the first additional combination, are also species (main species) registered in the species list.

[0302] The second additional combination is a combination of three biological species A to C registered in the biological species list, plus three biological species α to γ ​​registered in the additional list.

[0303] In the interaction network for the second additional combination, the node of the main species A is connected by links to the nodes of the sub-species a to c, which interact with the main species A, and α.

[0304] Furthermore, the node of the main biological species B is connected by links to the nodes of the by-species c to f, C, and β that interact with the main biological species B, and the node of the main biological species C is connected by links to the node of the by-species γ that interacts with the main biological species C.

[0305] As described above, multiple additional combinations are generated by adding the species registered in the additional list to combinations of species selected from the multiple species registered in the species list. Then, from among the multiple additional combinations, a presentation combination is determined based on the evaluation of the interaction network.

[0306] In this case, the presented combination may include species registered in the additional list.

[0307] Therefore, for example, if a user strongly desires to introduce a particular species into a habitat, by registering that species in the addition list, a proposed combination including the species strongly desired by the user will be provided, thereby enabling the creation of an ecosystem in which the species strongly desired by the user has been introduced.

[0308] Furthermore, for example, by registering biological species that actually exist in the habitat in the additional list, a presented combination including the biological species that actually exist in the habitat is provided, which makes it possible to construct an ecosystem that makes the most of the current state of the habitat, for example, the biological species such as plants and microflora that actually exist in the land or space that serves as the habitat.

[0309] <Third Example of Processing of Information Processing System 10>

[0310] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the processing of the information processing system 10. In FIG.

[0311] In steps S111 and S112, and step S121, the same processes as in steps S11 and S12, and step S21 in FIG. 7, respectively, are performed.

[0312] In step S122, in the server 12 (FIG. 6), the receiving unit 51 accesses the database 13 to receive necessary information such as interaction information, and supplies it to the determining unit 52.

[0313] Here, the information received by the receiving unit 51 from the database 13 in step S22 of FIG. 7 includes at least interaction information.

[0314] Meanwhile, the information received by the receiving unit 51 from the database 13 in step S122 includes at least biological species name information in addition to the interaction information. The biological species name information received by the receiving unit 51 from the database 13 in step S122 is biological species name information that includes at least the common name of a biological species registered in the biological species list by its common name.

[0315] In step S123, if there is a biological species registered in the biological species list by a common name, the determining unit 52 converts the common name into a scientific name using the biological species name information.

[0316] Thereafter, in steps S124 to S126 and steps S113 and S114, the same processes as in steps S23 to S25 and steps S13 and S14 in FIG. 7, respectively, are performed.

[0317] Scientific names are names given to taxonomic groups of organisms worldwide, and are therefore used to describe information about biological species, such as interaction information, stored in the database 13.

[0318] On the other hand, non-expert users rarely know the scientific names of biological species (biological species names), and instead use coarse common names (general names) such as "apple."

[0319] Therefore, as explained in Figure 20, if there is a biological species registered in the biological species list by its common name, the common name can be converted to a scientific name using the biological species name information, allowing the user to enter the biological species to be registered in the biological species list by its common name.

[0320] Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience when the user operates the terminal 11 to input a biological species to be registered in the biological species list.

[0321] In the presented combinations presented in the presentation UI, the common name and scientific name can be written together as the name of the biological species, allowing the user to learn the scientific name of the biological species.

[0322] In this embodiment, for ease of understanding, common names, rather than scientific names, are used to describe the names of biological species.

[0323] <Fourth Example of Processing of Information Processing System 10>

[0324] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of the processing of the information processing system 10. In FIG.

[0325] In the terminal 11 (FIG. 5) (FIG. 11), in step S141, the transmitting unit 43 acquires the location information of the terminal 11 from the positioning unit 25 (FIG. 2) in response to, for example, an operation of the terminal 11 by the user.

[0326] In step S142, the transmission unit 43 transmits to the server 12 a generation request command for requesting the generation of a biological species list, together with the location information of the terminal 11.

[0327] In the server 12 (FIG. 6), the receiving unit 51 receives the generation request command transmitted from the terminal 11 and supplies it to the determining unit 52 in step S151.

[0328] In step S 152 , the receiving unit 51 accesses the database 13 to receive necessary information such as interaction information, and supplies it to the determining unit 52 .

[0329] Here, the information received by the receiving unit 51 from the database 13 in step S22 of FIG. 7 includes at least interaction information.

[0330] Meanwhile, the information that the receiving unit 51 receives from the database 13 in step S152 includes at least habitat information in addition to the interaction information. The habitat information that the receiving unit 51 receives from the database 13 in step S152 is at least habitat information about a habitat that includes the position indicated by the position information included in the generation request command from the terminal 11.

[0331] In step S153, the determination unit 52 uses the habitat information to recognize the biological species observed as having the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11 as their habitat, i.e., the biological species that inhabit the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11.

[0332] Then, the determining unit 52 generates a species list in which the species that inhabit the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11 are registered.

[0333] In this case, for example, the biological species observed at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11, such as plant species that have been observed as natural vegetation at that location, are registered in the biological species list.

[0334] Additionally, the determination unit 52 can recognize biological species that have not been observed (do not inhabit) at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11 but are suited to the environment, such as the climate, of that location. Then, these biological species can be treated as pseudo-species that are observed at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11. A biological species that is suited to the environment, such as the climate, of the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11 is, for example, a biological species that is observed at another location with a similar environment to the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11.

[0335] If the number of biological species observed at the location indicated by the location information from terminal 11 is large, the load on server 12 will be heavy, so the determination unit 52 can limit the number of biological species to be registered in the biological species list.

[0336] If the number of biological species observed at the location indicated by the location information from terminal 11 is greater than a preset threshold, the determination unit 52 can limit the number of biological species to be registered in the biological species list as follows.

[0337] For example, the determination unit 52 can randomly select a number of species equal to a threshold value from among the species observed at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11, and register them in the species list.

[0338] Furthermore, for example, the determination unit 52 can select a number of biological species below a threshold from the biological species of one or more specific biological classifications observed at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11, and register them in the biological species list.

[0339] Additionally, for example, the determination unit 52 can select the same number of biological species from each biological classification of biological species observed at the location indicated by the location information from the terminal 11 so that the total number is below a threshold, and register them in the biological species list.

[0340] In step S154, the determination unit 52 generates a plurality of combinations of biological species by selecting biological species from the plurality of biological species registered in the biological species list. Furthermore, the determination unit 52 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for each of the plurality of combinations of biological species, with the main biological species that make up the combination and the by-species that interact with the main biological species as nodes.

[0341] The determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network using a default evaluation method that is preset in the server 12 , and determines a presentation combination in accordance with the evaluation, and supplies the combination to the generation unit 53 .

[0342] In step S155, the generation unit 53 generates a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination received from the determination unit 52, and supplies the UI to the transmission unit .

[0343] In Figure 21, the presentation UI generated by the generation unit 53 can include a warning message that warns users that a biological species list generated (automatically) by the server 12 has been used, rather than a biological species list in which the biological species specified by the user is registered.

[0344] By displaying a warning message in the presentation UI, it is possible to prevent the user from mistakenly thinking that the presented combination presented in the presentation UI is a combination obtained using a list of registered biological species for the biological species specified by the user.

[0345] Thereafter, in step S156, and steps S143 and S144, the same processes as in step S25, and steps S13 and S14 in FIG. 7, respectively, are performed.

[0346] As described above, generating a biological species list (registering biological species etc. observed at the location indicated by the location information from terminal 11) in server 12 is also referred to as automatic generation of a biological species list.

[0347] When a biological species list is automatically generated, the user does not need to operate terminal 11 to specify a biological species, so automatic generation of a biological species list is useful, for example, when a user who is not familiar with biological species wants to try out the usability of terminal 11.

[0348] In addition, automatic generation of a biological species list is useful when conducting a demonstration that displays a presentation UI that presents presentation combinations, or when a user wishes to automatically generate a biological species list because they find it cumbersome to operate terminal 11.

[0349] In Figure 21, the evaluation of the interaction network is performed using the default evaluation method, but the evaluation of the interaction network can be performed using the evaluation method represented by the evaluation method information generated in response to the user's operation of terminal 11, as in the case of Figure 7, etc.

[0350] In addition, in Figure 21, location information indicating the location of terminal 11 is used as the location information to be included in the generation request command, but other location information of any location, such as a location specified by the user by operating terminal 11, can also be included in the generation request command.

[0351] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a presentation UI when a biological species list is automatically generated.

[0352] When a biological species list is automatically generated, the presentation UI displays, for example, the name image and network image described in Figure 15, along with a warning message alerting users that a biological species list has been automatically generated.

[0353] In FIG. 22, the message "An automatically generated species list is being used" is displayed as a warning message.

[0354] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing another display example of the presentation UI.

[0355] The presentation UI can display network images of the interaction network for the presented combination as well as network images of the interaction networks for other combinations generated from the biological species list.

[0356] In Figure 23, network images of the interaction networks for each of all combinations generated from the species list are displayed.

[0357] The presentation UI can display network images of the interaction network for the presented combination as well as network images of the interaction networks for other combinations. In this case, too, a warning message can be displayed when the species list is automatically generated.

[0358] <Database 13 Update>

[0359] FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the process of updating the interaction information in the database 13 performed in the information processing system 10. In FIG.

[0360] The database 13 can be updated in response to input from a user (external).

[0361] In step S181, in the terminal 11, interaction information is stored in a local database (not shown) in response to an operation of the terminal 11 by the user.

[0362] Here, interactions are sometimes published in papers and come to the users' attention. Users may also discover interactions from the results of metagenomic analysis of microbiomes, which has become inexpensive in recent years. Furthermore, users may observe interactions, such as one insect preying on another, in everyday life.

[0363] When the user comes into contact with an interaction as described above, the user can input interaction information relating to the interaction by operating the terminal 11.

[0364] In step S181, the interaction information input by the user operating the terminal 11 is stored in a local database.

[0365] In step S182, the terminal 11 transmits to the database 13 any interaction information stored in the local database that has not yet been transmitted to the database 13.

[0366] In the database 13, the interaction information from the terminal 11 is received in step S191.

[0367] In step S192, the database 13 additionally stores the interaction information from the terminal 11, thereby updating the stored contents.

[0368] The interaction information initially stored in the database 13 may not be comprehensive.

[0369] Therefore, the interaction information in the database 13 can be updated (reinforced) by additionally storing interaction information input by the user operating the terminal 11, as described above.

[0370] This allows for user-participation development, i.e., the construction of a user-participation database 13, making it possible to build a robust, highly scalable collective intelligence database 13. Such a user-participation database 13 may itself be valuable as a research subject.

[0371] <Fourth Configuration Example of Determining Unit 52>

[0372] FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a fourth example configuration of the determination unit 52 in FIG.

[0373] In the figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted below as appropriate.

[0374] 25, the determination unit 52 includes a network construction unit 72, a combination generation unit 131, an evaluation unit 133, and a judgment unit .

[0375] Therefore, the determination unit 52 in Fig. 25 is common to the case in Fig. 8 in that it is provided with a network construction unit 72. However, the determination unit 52 in Fig. 25 differs from the case in Fig. 8 in that it is provided with a combination generation unit 131, an evaluation unit 133, and a judgment unit 134 instead of the combination generation unit 71, the evaluation unit 73, and the selection unit 74, respectively.

[0376] The determination unit 52 in FIGS. 8, 12, and 13 generates all combinations of species registered in the species list (including combinations of an empty set, if necessary). Then, an interaction network is constructed and evaluated for each of all possible combinations of species, and the combination with the best evaluation score is determined as the presented combination.

[0377] When all possible combinations are generated, if there are many species registered in the species list, the number of species combinations becomes enormous, which may make it difficult for the server 12 to construct and evaluate an interaction network for such a large number of combinations using limited computational resources.

[0378] Therefore, the determination unit 52 can determine the combinations to be presented by solving the combinatorial optimization problem using an approximate solution method. In this case, it is possible to reduce the number of combinations of biological species to be constructed and evaluated in an interaction network, thereby saving computational resources.

[0379] When solving a combinatorial optimization problem using an approximate solution method, the combinations used to calculate the objective function are set using a heuristic algorithm to find combinations that maximize / minimize the objective function under the necessary constraints.

[0380] In this technology, the objective function can be set according to the evaluation method indicated by the evaluation method information. For example, the calculation formula for the evaluation score described with reference to FIG. 8 can be used as the objective function.

[0381] Furthermore, constraints are not essential in this technology. Whether or not to use constraints and the content of the constraints when using constraints can be set, for example, according to a user operation. For example, whether or not to use constraints and the content of the constraints when using constraints can be included in evaluation method information and transmitted from the terminal 11 to the server 12.

[0382] For example, in order to ensure a certain level of biodiversity, a constraint can be adopted such as requiring that the combination of biological species include X or more species.

[0383] 25, a species list is supplied to the combination generation unit 131 from the receiving unit 51. Furthermore, the combination generation unit 131 is supplied with hyperparameters that set the behavior of the approximate solution method.

[0384] Here, the hyperparameters are parameters that set the behavior of the algorithm that generates (determines) the combinations of biological species, and do not include information about the objective function, because the objective function is set according to the evaluation method information.

[0385] Furthermore, the hyperparameters can be set in advance in the server 12, or can be set in response to a user operation. When the hyperparameters are set in response to a user operation, the hyperparameters can be transmitted from the terminal 11 to the server 12 together with, for example, a list of biological species.

[0386] The combination generation unit 131 generates combinations of species (main species) to be searched for interactions from the species registered in the species list.

[0387] That is, the combination generation unit 131 generates a combination of biological species based on the previous combination of biological species (the combination generated previously) supplied from the judgment unit 134, in accordance with a metaheuristic approximate solution algorithm determined according to hyperparameters.

[0388] Examples of metaheuristic approximate solution algorithms that can be used include local search, simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, and tabu search.

[0389] In addition, when the combination generation unit 131 first generates a combination of biological species from the biological species registered in the biological species list, the combination of biological species can be generated by any method, such as randomly selecting a random number of biological species from the biological species registered in the biological species list.

[0390] The combinations of biological species generated by the combination generation unit 131 are supplied to the network construction unit 72 .

[0391] The network construction unit 72 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for the combination of species from the combination generation unit 131 and supplies it to the evaluation unit 133 .

[0392] The evaluation unit 133 is supplied with an interaction network for the combination of biological species from the network construction unit 72 , and is also supplied with evaluation method information from the reception unit 51 .

[0393] The evaluation unit 133 sets a calculation formula for the evaluation score as an objective function according to the evaluation method information. The evaluation unit 133 calculates the evaluation score (objective function value) of the interaction network from the network construction unit 72 according to the calculation formula, and supplies it to the determination unit 134.

[0394] The determination unit 134 determines the evaluation score of the interaction network from the evaluation unit 133 .

[0395] The judgment unit 134 judges whether the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination (combination of biological species generated this time) from the evaluation unit 133 has worsened or improved compared to the evaluation score of the interaction network for the previous combination.

[0396] If the determination unit 134 determines that the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination has improved, it feeds back (supplies) the current combination to the combination generation unit 131.

[0397] In this case, the combination generation unit 131 generates a new combination by selecting species from the species list based on the current combination fed back from the determination unit 134, in accordance with the metaheuristic approximate solution algorithm. The combination generation unit 131 then supplies the new combination to the network construction unit 72.

[0398] On the other hand, if the judgment unit 134 determines that the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination has worsened, it determines the previous combination as the presented combination as an approximate solution to the combinatorial optimization problem and supplies it to the generation unit 53 (Figure 6).

[0399] <Fifth Example of Processing of Information Processing System 10>

[0400] FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a fifth example of the processing of the information processing system 10. In FIG.

[0401] That is, FIG. 26 shows an example of processing of the information processing system 10 when the determination unit 52 is configured as shown in FIG. 25 and determines a presentation combination by solving a combinatorial optimization problem using an approximate solution method.

[0402] In the terminal 11, in steps S211 to S214, the same processes as in steps S11 to S14 in FIG. 7 are performed.

[0403] In the server 12, in steps S221, S222, S224, and S225, the same processes as in steps S21, S22, S24, and S25 in FIG. 7 are performed, respectively.

[0404] In addition, in the server 12, in step S223, the determination unit 52 determines a presentation combination by solving the combinatorial optimization problem using an approximation method, and supplies the combination to the generation unit 53.

[0405] That is, in the determination unit 52 (FIG. 25), the combination generation unit 131 selects species from the species list according to a metaheuristic approximate solution algorithm, generates combinations of species, and supplies them to the network construction unit 72.

[0406] The network construction unit 72 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for the combination of species from the combination generation unit 131 and supplies it to the evaluation unit 133 .

[0407] The evaluation unit 133 calculates the evaluation score (value of the objective function) of the interaction network from the network construction unit 72 according to a calculation formula for the evaluation score as an objective function set according to the evaluation method information, and supplies it to the determination unit 134.

[0408] The determination unit 134 determines whether the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination from the evaluation unit 133 has worsened or improved in comparison with the evaluation score of the interaction network for the previous combination.

[0409] If the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination is improved, the determination unit 134 feeds back the current combination to the combination generation unit 131.

[0410] The combination generation unit 131 generates new combinations by selecting species from the species list in accordance with a metaheuristic approximate solution algorithm, based on the current combinations fed back from the determination unit 134 .

[0411] Thereafter, the determination unit 52 repeats the same process until the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination deteriorates.

[0412] If the evaluation score of the interaction network for the current combination has deteriorated, the determination unit 134 determines the previous combination as the presentation combination as an approximate solution to the combinatorial optimization problem, and supplies this to the generation unit 53.

[0413] As described above, the determination unit 52 determines the combinations to be presented by solving the combinatorial optimization problem using an approximate solution method, thereby saving computational resources and preventing inappropriate combinations of biological species from being obtained as the combinations to be presented.

[0414] Below, we will explain a specific example of how the presentation combination is determined by the determination unit 52. In the following, for simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that all possible combinations of species are generated from the species list.

[0415] <Example of deciding presentation combination>

[0416] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing interaction information used in a first specific example of determining a presentation combination.

[0417] In the interaction information in FIG. 27, an interaction is associated with a target biological species that is the destination of the interaction, and a source biological species that influences the interaction on the target biological species.

[0418] According to the interactions in Figure 27, for example, Fusarium oxysporum exerts a pathogenic interaction on cucumber, and for example, Parkholderia grafioli exerts a growth inhibitory interaction on Fusarium oxysporum, and Welsh onion exerts a symbiotic interaction on Parkholderia grafioli.

[0419] In a first specific example, a target ecosystem is defined as an ecosystem that increases the species diversity of plant species while minimizing the risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms that target plant species, and a combination of plant species that is appropriate for constructing the target ecosystem is identified from multiple plant species.

[0420] In a first specific example, for example, the user operates the terminal 11 so that the higher the species diversity of a plant species, the higher the evaluation, and the higher the risk of infection with pathogenic microorganisms, the lower the evaluation. The evaluation method information generation unit 42 generates evaluation method information in response to the operation of the terminal 11.

[0421] In the determination unit 52, a formula for calculating the evaluation score is set according to the evaluation method information, for example, as shown in formula (1).

[0422] Evaluation score = plant species diversity score + impact score ···(1)

[0423] The plant species diversity score represents the species diversity of the plant species that make up the interaction network, and the higher the number of plant species that make up the interaction network, the higher the score is set. For example, the number of plant species that make up the interaction network can be used as the plant species diversity score.

[0424] The influence score represents the degree to which the plant species constituting the interaction network affect the risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms. For example, the influence score is set to a smaller value, for example, a negative value with a large absolute value, as a penalty, the greater the influence of the plant species, so as to increase the risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms. Also, the influence score is set to a larger value, for example, a positive value with a large absolute value, as a reward, the greater the influence of the plant species, so as to decrease the risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms.

[0425] For example, suppose that the user plans to introduce rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust as candidate plant species to the ecosystem.

[0426] In this case, the user operates terminal 11 to input an instruction to generate a biological species list and the names of rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust. In response to the operation of terminal 11, biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in which rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust are registered.

[0427] The determination unit 52 generates a combination of biological species by selecting the species from the list of biological species. Furthermore, the determination unit 52 uses the interaction information to construct an interaction network for the combination of biological species.

[0428] FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an interaction network constructed for a combination of four biological species: rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust.

[0429] The determination unit 52 searches for by-product species that interact with each of the main species that make up the combination of four biological species, namely, rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust (the parts marked with a crosshatched pattern in the figure), using the interaction information in Figure 27. In Figure 28, microbial species (the shaded parts in the figure) and insects (the parts marked with a dotted pattern in the figure) are searched for as by-product species.

[0430] In Figure 28, Fusarium oxysporum and cucumber mosaic virus are searched for as secondary species that interact with, for example, cucumber, among the main species that make up the combination of four biological species.

[0431] Additionally, Parkholderia grafioli has been explored as a by-product species that interacts with, for example, onion.

[0432] The main species that make up a combination of four biological species and the secondary species that interact with the main species become nodes in the interaction network for the combination of four biological species.

[0433] In the determination unit 52, after searching for secondary species that interact with each main biological species, the interaction information in Figure 27 is used to search for interactions that occur between any two biological species among all the main biological species and secondary biological species.

[0434] In Figure 28, for example, growth inhibitory interactions between Parkholderia graffitiori and Fusarium oxysporum, and predatory interactions between ladybugs and aphids are explored.

[0435] The determining unit 52 constructs an interaction network by connecting nodes that cause interactions among the nodes of the biological species (main biological species and secondary biological species) with arrows as links.

[0436] Among the species represented by the nodes of the interaction network, for example, cucumber is subject to pathogenic interactions from Fusarium oxysporum, as shown in the interaction information in Figure 27.

[0437] Therefore, in the interaction network, the cucumber node and the Fusarium oxysporum node are connected (linked) by arrows in the direction according to the interaction, which act as links representing pathogenicity.

[0438] The arrow representing the link of pathogenicity starts from the node of Fusarium oxysporum, which exerts the pathogenic interaction, and ends at the node of cucumber, which is the destination of the pathogenic interaction.

[0439] Furthermore, among the species represented by the nodes of the interaction network, for example, Welsh onion exerts a symbiotic interaction with Parkholderia grafioli, as shown in the interaction information in Figure 27.

[0440] Therefore, in the interaction network, the leek node and the Parkholderia grafioli node are connected by an arrow representing a link representing symbiosis, with the leek node as the starting point and the Parkholderia grafioli node as the ending point.

[0441] Furthermore, among the biological species represented by the nodes of the interaction network, for example, Parkholderia graffitiori exerts a growth-inhibitory interaction on Fusarium oxysporum, as shown in the interaction information in Figure 27.

[0442] Therefore, in the interaction network, the node of Parkholderia grafioris and the node of Fusarium oxysporum are connected by an arrow as a link representing growth inhibition, with the node of Parkholderia grafioris as the starting point and the node of Fusarium oxysporum as the ending point.

[0443] In the interaction network of Figure 28, Robinia pseudoacacia exerts a direct toxic interaction on ladybugs. However, in reality, the substances produced by Robinia pseudoacacia that are toxic to ladybugs are taken up by the ladybugs via the aphids that the ladybugs prey on.

[0444] In other words, aphids feed on Robinia pseudoacacia, and ladybugs then prey on the aphids, ingesting the toxic substances produced by the Robinia pseudoacacia.

[0445] After constructing the interaction network, the determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network by calculating an evaluation score according to the calculation formula of Equation (1) set according to the evaluation method information.

[0446] To calculate the influence score of the calculation formula (1), the determination unit 52 identifies pathogenic microorganisms (pathogenic microbial species) from (the biological species that are nodes of) the interaction network.

[0447] In the interaction network of Figure 28, three pathogenic microorganisms are identified: Fusarium oxysporum, Turnip mosaic virus, and Cucumber mosaic virus (shown in bold in the figure).

[0448] The determination unit 52 starts from the node of each plant species that is the main biological species in the interaction network and moves in the direction of the arrow representing the link. The determination unit 52 then searches for a path leading to the node of the pathogenic microorganism as an interaction path in which the interaction of the plant species affects the pathogenic microorganism.

[0449] That is, the determination unit 52 searches for an interaction path that starts at a node of a plant species and ends at a node of a pathogenic microorganism that is directly or indirectly affected by the interaction of that plant species, and that does not pass through the same node multiple times.

[0450] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing interaction paths searched from the interaction network of FIG.

[0451] In the interaction network of Figure 28, for the plant species Welsh onion, the first interaction path (from the top) is explored, which runs from the Welsh onion node to the Parkholderia graffitiori node and then to the pathogenic microorganism Fusarium oxysporum.

[0452] Furthermore, for the plant species Robinia pseudoacacia, the second and third interaction pathways are explored, which run from the Robinia pseudoacacia node to the ladybug and aphid nodes, and then to the Turnip mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus nodes, respectively.

[0453] In the interaction network of Figure 28, the interactions between the plant species rapeseed and cucumber and pathogenic microorganisms are passive, and there are no interaction pathways starting from rapeseed and cucumber (interaction pathways in which the interaction between rapeseed and cucumber affects pathogenic microorganisms).

[0454] The determination unit 52 calculates an influence score depending on whether the starting plant species ultimately has a positive or negative effect on the end pathogenic microorganism in each interaction pathway for each plant species.

[0455] The determination unit 52 identifies whether the biological species represented by each node other than the terminal node in the interaction path will have a positive or negative interaction with the growth of the biological species with which it directly interacts (the biological species with which it directly interacts).

[0456] Here, interactions that are positive for growth are also called positive effects, and interactions that are negative for growth are also called negative effects. In Figure 29, arrows that represent positive effects are marked with [+], and arrows that represent negative effects are marked with [-].

[0457] The determination unit 52 determines whether the biological species at each node other than the terminal node ultimately has a positive or negative effect on suppressing the growth of pathogenic microorganisms at the terminal node, depending on the positive and negative effects from the terminal node to each node of the interaction path.

[0458] Here, the positive and negative effects on the growth inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms are also referred to as the positive and negative effects, respectively. In Figure 29, nodes that have a positive effect are marked with +, and nodes that have a negative effect are marked with -.

[0459] When the plant species of the starting node of an interaction path exerts a positive effect, the determination unit 52 calculates, for example, +1 as the influence score of the interaction path. When the plant species of the starting node of an interaction path exerts a negative effect, the determination unit 52 calculates, for example, −1 as the influence score of the interaction path.

[0460] The determination unit 52 calculates the influence score of each plant species by summing the influence scores of the interaction pathways for that plant species.

[0461] In Figure 29, in the first interaction pathway for Welsh onion, Parkholderia grafiori exerts a negative growth inhibitory effect ([-]) on the terminal (node) Fusarium oxysporum.

[0462] Therefore, Parkholderia graffioli has a positive effect (+) on the growth inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum.

[0463] In the first interaction pathway for leeks, leeks exert a positive symbiotic effect ([+]) on Parkholderia graphiori, which exerts a positive effect (+).

[0464] Therefore, onion has a positive effect (+) on the growth inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum.

[0465] As described above, in the first interaction path for the green onion, the green onion at the starting node exerts a positive effect (+), so the influence score of the first interaction path for the green onion is calculated as +1.

[0466] As for the interaction path for green onion, only the first interaction path exists, and therefore, the influence score of green onion is calculated as +1, which is equal to the influence score of the first interaction path.

[0467] Next, in Figure 29, in the second interaction pathway for Robinia pseudoacacia, aphids exert a mediated positive effect ([+]) on the endpoint Turnip mosaic virus.

[0468] Therefore, aphids have a negative effect (-) on the suppression of turnip mosaic virus growth.

[0469] In the second interaction pathway for Robinia pseudoacacia, ladybugs exert a negative predatory effect ([-]) on aphids, which exert a negative effect (-).

[0470] Therefore, ladybugs have a positive effect (+) on suppressing the growth of turnip mosaic virus.

[0471] Furthermore, in the second interaction pathway for Robinia pseudoacacia, Robinia pseudoacacia exerts a negative toxic effect ([-]) on ladybirds, which exert a positive effect (+).

[0472] Therefore, Robinia pseudoacacia has a negative effect (-) on the growth suppression of turnip mosaic virus.

[0473] As described above, in the second interaction path for Robinia pseudoacacia, the starting node Robinia pseudoacacia exerts a negative effect (-), so the influence score of the second interaction path for Robinia pseudoacacia is calculated as -1.

[0474] In FIG. 29, for the third interaction path for Robinia pseudoacacia, an influence score of −1 is calculated in the same manner as for the second interaction path.

[0475] Since there are second and third interaction paths for Robinia pseudoacacia, the influence score for Robinia pseudoacacia is calculated as the sum of the influence scores of the second and third interaction paths, which is -2 = -1 - 1.

[0476] As mentioned above, there is no interaction pathway for rapeseed and cucumber, so the influence score for each is 0.

[0477] The determination unit 52 calculates the influence score of each main biological species and sums up the influence scores to calculate the final influence score.

[0478] For the interaction network in Figure 28, the influence scores of the main biological species, rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust, are added together to calculate the final influence score as -1 = 0 + 0 + 1 - 2.

[0479] The determination unit 52 calculates the plant species diversity score together with the influence score of the calculation formula (1). For example, 4, which is the number of plant species in the interaction network of Fig. 28, is calculated as the plant species diversity score.

[0480] The determination unit 52 calculates the evaluation score of the interaction network according to formula (1). For example, the evaluation score of the interaction network in Fig. 28 is calculated as 3 (=4-1), which is the sum of the influence score -1 and the plant species diversity score 4.

[0481] In this manner, the determination unit 52 calculates the evaluation score of the interaction network for each of all combinations of species selected from the species list.

[0482] FIG. 30 shows the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of all possible combinations of plant species generated from a list of registered biological species including rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust.

[0483] FIG. 30 shows each combination of plant species, the interaction network evaluation score for that combination, and the plant species diversity score and influence score used to calculate the evaluation score.

[0484] In FIG. 30, for example, the first (from the top) shows the interaction network influence score, plant species diversity score, and evaluation score for the combination of rapeseed, cucumber, leek, and black locust.

[0485] As explained in Figures 27 to 29, the interaction network influence score, plant species diversity score, and evaluation score for the combination of rapeseed, cucumber, green onion, and black locust are -1, 4, and 3, respectively.

[0486] The determination unit 52 determines the combination of species with the best evaluation score of the interaction network as the presented combination.

[0487] In Figure 30, the interaction network evaluation score for the second combination of rapeseed, cucumber, and leek is 4, which is the best, and therefore the combination of rapeseed, cucumber, and leek is selected as the proposed combination. By viewing this proposed combination, the user can recognize that, in order to build an ecosystem that increases the species diversity of plant species while reducing the risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms, rapeseed, cucumber, and leek are candidate plant species to be introduced, and that of these, rapeseed, cucumber, and leek should be introduced.

[0488] Here, as shown in equation (1), the evaluation score is the sum of the plant species diversity score and the influence score, but it is also possible to use other evaluation scores, such as only the plant species diversity score or only the influence score.

[0489] FIG. 31 is a diagram showing interaction information used in a second specific example of determining a presentation combination.

[0490] In the interaction information in FIG. 31, a predator-prey interaction is associated with a target biological species that is the destination of the interaction, and a source biological species that has an effect on the target biological species.

[0491] According to the interactions in Figure 31, for example, rabbitfish prey on sawtooth seaweed, bigfin reef squid prey on rabbitfish, and parrotfish prey on black sea bream.

[0492] There have been many reported cases around the world where seaweed has stopped growing due to excessive eating by herbivorous animals (phytophagous animals). Such environments are known as "shore denudation areas."

[0493] In recent years, increasing the number of predators of herbivores has been attracting attention as a way to manage coastal denudation. For example, there have been cases where increasing the population of spiny lobsters, which are predators of sea urchins, which are herbivores, has led to a recovery in the growth of seaweed.

[0494] In this case, only the interaction between spiny lobsters and sea urchins, in which spiny lobsters prey on sea urchins, which are herbivores, was considered. However, by applying this technology, it will be possible to implement countermeasure management for sea denudation sites that comprehensively considers the predator-prey relationships between various biological species.

[0495] In a second specific example, the goal is to increase biodiversity by introducing marine algae into a specific marine area, and an appropriate combination of animal species is identified from multiple animal species to coexist in order to efficiently establish marine algae.

[0496] In a second example, marine algae such as Sargassum serrata, Kurome seaweed, and Gelidium nigricans are introduced to enhance biodiversity in a specific marine area. Furthermore, parrotfish, barracudas, purple sea urchins, and octopuses are also observed in the specific marine area.

[0497] Here, marine algae introduced into a specific marine area are also referred to as introduced algae, and animal species observed in a specific marine area are also referred to as observed animal species.

[0498] In a second specific example, for example, a user operates the terminal 11 to search the interaction information of Figure 31 to identify related animal species, which are animal species (animals) involved in a food web that includes the introduced algae and the observed animal species.

[0499] For example, the user may identify as related animal species animal species that prey on introduced algae (Sargassum serrata, Kurome seaweed, Gelidium gracilis) or observed animal species (parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, octopus). Furthermore, for example, the user may identify as related animal species animal species other than the observed animal species that prey (directly or indirectly) on the introduced algae or observed animal species.

[0500] Here, for example, it is assumed that bigfin reef squid, rabbitfish, moray eel, spiny lobster, and stonefish are identified as related animal species.

[0501] In a particular ocean area, the observed species are already present, so in the second example, suitable combinations of associated species are identified by evaluating the interaction networks for combinations of zero or more associated species plus all of the observed species.

[0502] Therefore, the user operates terminal 11 to input an instruction to generate a biological species list and (the name of) the related animal species. In response to the operation of terminal 11, biological species list generation unit 41 generates a biological species list in which the related animal species are registered.

[0503] Furthermore, the user operates terminal 11 to input an instruction to generate an additional list and the observed animal species. In response to the operation of terminal 11, biological species list generation unit 41 generates an additional list in which the observed animal species is registered.

[0504] The user also operates the terminal 11, for example, to limit the interactions used in constructing the interaction network to predation (feeding). Furthermore, the user operates the terminal 11, for example, to limit the main biological species and sub-biological species targeted for interaction search in constructing the interaction network to the biological species that make up the combination of biological species targeted for constructing the interaction network, and the introduced algae.

[0505] In the restriction information generating unit 81 (FIG. 11), restriction information is generated in response to an operation of the terminal 11.

[0506] The determination unit 52 generates a combination of related animal species by selecting the related animal species from the biological species list. Furthermore, the determination unit 52 generates an additional combination by adding an observed animal species registered in the additional list to the combination of related animal species generated from the biological species list.

[0507] Then, an interaction network is constructed for the additional combination using the interaction information in the determination unit 52. The construction of the interaction network is performed by restricting the interactions used to construct the interaction network and the main and sub-organism species to be searched for interactions according to the restriction information.

[0508] Figure 32 shows an interaction network generated for the combination of related biological species: bigfin reef squid, rabbitfish, moray eel, spiny lobster, and stonefish, plus the observed animal species: parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus.

[0509] The determination unit 52 uses the interaction information in Figure 31 to search for by-product species that have predation (prey) interactions with the related animal species that are the main biological species that make up the additional combination, namely, bigfin reef squid, rabbitfish, moray eel, spiny lobster, and stonefish (shaded areas in the figure), and the observed animal species, parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus (shaded areas in the figure).

[0510] In Figure 32, for example, for the related animal species moray eel as the main biological species, the observed animal species parrotfish, which the moray eel preys on, is searched for as a secondary species. Also, for example, for the observed animal species parrotfish as the main biological species, the introduced algae sawtooth seaweed, which the parrotfish preys on, is searched for as a secondary species.

[0511] The main species that make up the additive combination and the secondary species (the species that the main species preys on) that have predation interactions with the main species become nodes in the interaction network for the additive combination.

[0512] In the determination unit 52, after searching for secondary species that interact with each main biological species, the interaction information in Figure 31 is used to search for predation interactions that occur between any two biological species among all the main biological species and secondary biological species.

[0513] The determining unit 52 constructs an interaction network by connecting nodes that cause predation interactions among the nodes of the biological species (main biological species and secondary biological species) with arrows as links.

[0514] In an interaction network, predator (prey species) nodes and prey (prey species) nodes are connected by arrows pointing from the predator node to the prey node, representing links in predation interactions.

[0515] For example, the arrow representing the link between the observed animal species parrotfish and the introduced algae seaweed, which preys on (eats), starts from the node for the parrotfish, the predator, and ends at the node for the seaweed, the prey.

[0516] The user operates the terminal 11 so that the fewer opportunities for the introduced algae to be eaten, the higher the evaluation is, in order to improve the efficiency of the establishment of the introduced algae. The evaluation method information generation unit 42 generates evaluation method information in response to the operation of the terminal 11.

[0517] In the determination unit 52, a formula for calculating the evaluation score is set according to the evaluation method information, for example, as shown in formula (2).

[0518] Evaluation score = Σ predation control score ···(2)

[0519] The predation suppression score represents the degree to which predation of the introduced algae is suppressed, and is calculated for each species other than the introduced algae that is a node in the interaction network. In equation (2), Σ represents the summation of the predation suppression scores for all species other than the introduced algae.

[0520] After constructing the interaction network, the determination unit 52 evaluates the interaction network by calculating an evaluation score according to the calculation formula of Equation (2) set according to the evaluation method information.

[0521] FIG. 33 shows an interaction network generated for the additional combination of observed animal species, parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus, in addition to the combination of related biological species, moray eel and spiny lobster.

[0522] When calculating the predation inhibition score using the calculation formula (2), the determination unit 52 identifies the introduced algae from (the biological species that are nodes of) the interaction network.

[0523] For the interaction network in Figure 33, Sargassum, Kurome, and Gelidium are identified as introduced algae.

[0524] In the interaction network, for each biological species other than the introduced algae, the determination unit 52 starts from the node of that biological species, moves in the direction of the arrow representing the link, and searches for a path that leads to the node of the introduced algae as an interaction path that affects predation on the introduced algae.

[0525] That is, the determination unit 52 searches for an interaction path that starts at a node of a biological species other than the introduced algae, ends at any node of the introduced algae, and does not pass through the same node multiple times.

[0526] In the interaction network of Figure 33, for example, for the moray eel, an interaction path is searched from the moray eel node via the parrotfish to the node of the introduced algae Sargassum.Furthermore, for the moray eel, an interaction path is searched from the moray eel node via the octopus, spiny lobster, and purple sea urchin to the node of the introduced algae Gelidium.

[0527] For example, for the parrotfish, an interaction path is searched for that leads directly from the parrotfish node to the node for the introduced algae, Sargassum serrata.

[0528] The determination unit 52 calculates a predation inhibition score according to the number L of links from the starting biological species to the end introduced algae in each interaction path for each biological species other than the introduced algae.

[0529] That is, the determination unit 52 calculates the predation inhibition score of the interaction pathway according to, for example, equation (3).

[0530] Interaction pathway predation suppression score = SGN × 0.9^L ···(3)

[0531] In equation (3), SGN represents −1 when the number of links L is an odd number, and represents +1 when the number of links L is an even number.

[0532] According to equation (3), the predation suppression score is calculated as a value representing the degree to which the biological species at the starting point of the interaction pathway contributes to or hinders the suppression of predation on the introduced algae at the end point.

[0533] If the species at the start of the interaction pathway contributes to the suppression of predation on the introduced algae at the end, i.e., if predation on the introduced algae is suppressed, the predation suppression score will be a positive value. If the species at the start of the interaction pathway hinders the suppression of predation on the introduced algae at the end, i.e., if predation on the introduced algae is not suppressed (promoted), the predation suppression score will be a negative value.

[0534] The determination unit 52 calculates the predation-inhibition score for each biological species other than the introduced algae by summing the predation-inhibition scores of the interaction pathways for that biological species.

[0535] In Figure 33, for example, for the moray eel, the number of links L of the interaction path starting from the moray eel node and reaching the node of the introduced algae, sawtooth seaweed, is 2, so the predation inhibition score of that interaction path is calculated as +0.9^2.

[0536] Furthermore, for the moray eel, the number of links in the interaction path starting from the moray eel node and reaching the node for the introduced algae Gelidium is 4, so the predation deterrence score for that interaction path is calculated as +0.9^4.

[0537] The predation deterrence score for the moray eel is calculated as 1.4661 = +0.9^2++0.9^4, which is the sum of the predation deterrence scores for the two interaction pathways mentioned above.

[0538] For the interaction network of Figure 33, the predation inhibition scores of each biological species other than the introduced algae are calculated in the same manner.

[0539] FIG. 34 shows the calculation results of the predation inhibition score.

[0540] That is, FIG. 34 shows the calculation results of the predation inhibition scores of each biological species other than the introduced algae in the interaction network of FIG.

[0541] The evaluation score of the interaction network in Figure 33 is calculated as -1.1529, which is the sum of the predation inhibition scores of the moray eel, spiny lobster, parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus, species other than the introduced algae.

[0542] Figure 35 shows the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of the all possible combinations of zero or more related animal species generated from the biological species list, plus an observed animal species registered in the additional list.

[0543] That is, Figure 35 shows the evaluation scores of the interaction network for each of the all possible combinations of zero or more related animal species generated from the biological species list in which the bigfin reef squid, rabbitfish, moray eel, spiny lobster, and stonefish are registered, plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the additional list.

[0544] In FIG. 35, "combinations" represent combinations of zero or more related animal species generated from the biological species list.

[0545] In Figure 35, for example, the first evaluation score (from the top) represents the evaluation score of the interaction network for the combination of 0 related animal species (empty set combination) plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the additional list.

[0546] For example, the second evaluation score represents the evaluation score of the interaction network for the combination of only the related animal species rabbitfish, plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the additional list.Furthermore, for example, the third evaluation score represents the evaluation score of the interaction network for the combination of the related animal species rabbitfish and bigfin reef squid, plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the additional list.

[0547] The determination unit 52 determines the combination with the best evaluation score of the interaction network as the combination to be presented.

[0548] In Figure 35, the interaction network evaluation score for the combination of the related animal species moray eel and spiny lobster, plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the addition list, is -1.1529, which is the best. Therefore, the combination of the related animal species moray eel and spiny lobster with the best evaluation score, or the combination of that combination plus the parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus registered in the addition list, is determined to be the proposed combination. By viewing this proposed combination, the user can recognize that when introducing marine algae such as Sargassum, Kurome, and Gelidium into an ocean area where parrotfish, barracuda, purple sea urchin, and octopus are observed, they should introduce moray eels and spiny lobsters to improve the efficiency of the establishment of these marine algae.

[0549] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present technology.

[0550] As an embodiment of the present technology, in addition to the above-described embodiments, each embodiment may take a form in which components of other embodiments are combined to the extent possible.

[0551] For example, the process using the additional list in Fig. 18 can be combined with a process of converting common names of biological species into scientific names using the biological species name information in step S123 in Fig. 20. In this case, in addition to the common names of biological species registered in the biological species list, the common names of biological species registered in the additional list are also converted into scientific names using the biological species name information.

[0552] Furthermore, for example, the process using the additional list of FIG. 18 can be combined with determining the combinations to be presented by solving a combinatorial optimization problem using an approximate solution method, as described with reference to FIGS. 25 and 26.

[0553] This technology can be configured as cloud computing, in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by multiple devices via a network.

[0554] Each step of the processing of the terminal 11 or the server 12 can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by a plurality of devices.

[0555] When one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0556] Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0557] The present technology can be configured as follows.

[0558] <1> a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method; and a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, by constructing an interaction network that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with the main biological species being the biological species that constitute the combination and the secondary biological species being other biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes; A program that makes a computer function. <2> The determination unit restricts the main biological species, the by-product species, or both the main biological species and the by-product species. <1> The program described in <3> The determination unit sets the evaluation method in response to an external input. <1> or <2> The program described in <4> The present invention further includes a ranking unit that ranks the main biological species that constitute the presented combination according to the interaction network for the presented combination. <1> Or <3> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <5> A generating unit that generates a presentation user interface (UI) that presents the presentation combination is further provided. <1> Or <4> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <6> The determination unit reconstructs the interaction network for the presentation combination after the operation in accordance with the operation for the presentation combination presented in the presentation UI, The presentation UI presents the interaction network after reconstruction. <5> The program described in <7> The plurality of biological species are a plurality of biological species that actually exist in a predetermined location. <1> Or <6> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <8> The determination unit determines the presented combination in accordance with an evaluation of the interaction network constructed for a combination of a biological species selected from the plurality of biological species and a predetermined biological species. <1> Or <7> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <9> The plurality of biological species are biological species observed at the location where the predetermined terminal is located. <1> Or <8> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <10> the determining unit constructs the interaction network by referring to a database of interaction information; The database is updated in response to input from the user. <1> Or <9> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <11> The determination unit determines the combination of biological species that has the best score obtained by evaluating the interaction network as the presented combination. <1> Or <10> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <12> receiving information on the plurality of biological species transmitted from a predetermined terminal; <1> Or <11> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <13> A presentation UI for presenting the presentation combination is transmitted to the terminal. <12> The program described in <14> The determination unit constructs the interaction network for each of a plurality of combinations of plant species selected from a plurality of plant species, using the plant species as the main biological species and the microbial species as the by-product species as nodes, and determines the presented combinations according to an evaluation of the interaction network. <1> Or <13> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <15> The determination unit evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method in which the higher the species diversity of the plant species, the higher the evaluation, the lower the evaluation, the higher the risk of infection with pathogenic microorganisms, or the evaluation method in which an improvement in the species diversity of the microbial species is evaluated highly. <14> The program described in <16> The determination unit calculates a plant species diversity score representing the species diversity of the plant species or an influence score representing the degree to which the plant species affects the infection risk of the pathogenic microorganism in the evaluation of the interaction network. <15> The program described in <17> an acquisition unit that acquires information on the plurality of biological species <1> Or <16> 2. A program according to claim 1, wherein <18> a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method; and a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, by constructing an interaction network that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with the main biological species being the biological species that constitute the combination and the secondary biological species being other biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes; An information processing device comprising: <19> For each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, an interaction network is constructed that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with nodes being a main biological species that constitutes the combination and secondary biological species that are other biological species that interact with the main biological species, and a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, is determined based on an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method. An information processing method including: <20> a transmitting unit that transmits information on a plurality of biological species to an information processing device; The information processing device constructs an interaction network representing interactions between a main biological species and a secondary biological species for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from the plurality of biological species, with nodes representing a main biological species that constitutes the combination and a secondary biological species that is another biological species that interacts with the main biological species, and determines a presented combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method. a display control unit that displays on a display unit a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination obtained by A program that makes a computer function. [Explanation of symbols]

[0559] 10 Information processing system, 11-1 to 11-4 Terminal, 12 Server, 13 Database, 14 Network, 21 Communication unit, 22 Calculation unit, 23 Input / output unit, 24 Storage, 25 Positioning unit, 31 Communication unit, 32 Calculation unit, 33 Input / output unit, 34 Storage, 41 Biological species list generation unit, 42 Evaluation method information generation unit, 43 Transmission unit, 44 Reception unit, 45 Display control unit, 46 Display unit, 51 Reception unit, 52 Determination unit, 53 Generation unit, 54 Transmission unit, 71 Combination generation unit, 72 Network construction unit, 73 Evaluation unit, 74 Selection unit, 81 Restriction information generation unit, 91 Combination generation unit, 92 Network construction unit, 111 Ranking unit, 131 Combination generation unit, 133 Evaluation section, 134 Judgment section

Claims

1. a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method; and a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, by constructing an interaction network that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with the main biological species being the biological species that constitute the combination and the secondary biological species being other biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes; A program that makes a computer function.

2. The determination unit restricts the main biological species, the by-product species, or both the main biological species and the by-product species. The program according to claim 1.

3. The determination unit sets the evaluation method in response to an external input. The program according to claim 1.

4. The computer: a ranking unit that ranks the main biological species that constitute the presented combination according to the interaction network for the presented combination; The program according to claim 1, further functioning as

5. The computer: a generation unit that generates a presentation user interface (UI) that presents the presentation combination; The program according to claim 1, further functioning as

6. The determination unit reconstructs the interaction network for the presentation combination after the operation in accordance with the operation for the presentation combination presented in the presentation UI, The presentation UI presents the interaction network after reconstruction. The program according to claim 5.

7. The plurality of biological species are a plurality of biological species that actually exist in a predetermined location. The program according to claim 1.

8. The determination unit determines the presented combination in accordance with an evaluation of the interaction network constructed for a combination of a biological species selected from the plurality of biological species and a predetermined biological species. The program according to claim 1.

9. The plurality of biological species are biological species observed at the location where the predetermined terminal is located. The program according to claim 1.

10. the determining unit constructs the interaction network by referring to a database of interaction information; The database is updated in response to input from the user. The program according to claim 1.

11. The determination unit determines the combination of biological species that has the best score obtained by evaluating the interaction network as the presented combination. The program according to claim 1.

12. The computer: A reception control unit that controls reception of information on the plurality of biological species transmitted from a predetermined terminal. The program according to claim 1, further functioning as

13. The computer: a transmission control unit that controls a presentation UI that presents the presentation combination to be transmitted to the terminal; The program according to claim 12, further functioning as

14. The determination unit constructs the interaction network for each of a plurality of combinations of plant species selected from a plurality of plant species, using the plant species as the main biological species and the microbial species as the by-product species as nodes, and determines the presented combinations according to an evaluation of the interaction network. The program according to claim 1.

15. The determination unit evaluates the interaction network using the evaluation method in which the higher the species diversity of the plant species, the higher the evaluation, the lower the evaluation, the higher the risk of infection with pathogenic microorganisms, or the evaluation method in which an improvement in the species diversity of the microbial species is evaluated highly. The program according to claim 14.

16. The determination unit calculates a plant species diversity score representing the species diversity of the plant species or an influence score representing the degree to which the plant species affects the infection risk of the pathogenic microorganism in the evaluation of the interaction network. The program according to claim 15.

17. The computer: an acquisition unit for acquiring information on the plurality of biological species The program according to claim 1, further functioning as

18. a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, according to an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method; and a determination unit that determines a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, for each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, by constructing an interaction network that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with the main biological species being the biological species that constitute the combination and the secondary biological species being other biological species that interact with the main biological species as nodes; An information processing device comprising:

19. An information processing device comprising: For each of a plurality of combinations of biological species selected from a plurality of biological species, an interaction network is constructed that represents interactions between the main biological species and the secondary biological species, with nodes being a main biological species that constitutes the combination and secondary biological species that are other biological species that interact with the main biological species, and a presentation combination, which is a combination of biological species to be presented, is determined based on an evaluation of the interaction network obtained by evaluating the interaction network using an ecosystem evaluation method. An information processing method including:

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