Publications & Output
Papers, software, and research output from my M.Sc. in the Ecological Complexity Lab at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, working with Prof. Shai Pilosof.
Papers & preprints
Nehoray, S. M., Bloch, Y., & Pilosof, S. (2026). Interactively visualizing biological multilayer networks using MiRA. arXiv:2605.09597 [cs.SI]. preprint · live application · how it was built
A browser-based, installation-free web application for visualizing biological multilayer networks, with seven complementary visualization modes. I contributed to the application’s stability, edge-case handling, and software practices, and to feature design.
Bloch, Y., & Pilosof, S. A multiscale cellular automata–Markov framework for modelling shifting cultivation and agroforestry landscapes. Manuscript in review. code
Thesis
Bloch, Y. (2026). A multiscale cellular automata–Markov framework for modelling shifting cultivation and agroforestry landscapes. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Supervisor: Prof. Shai Pilosof. download PDF (8.7 MB) · code · Zenodo archive
Most land-use change models were developed for urban or industrial agricultural landscapes, where transitions are broad-scale and long-term. Smallholder shifting cultivation and agroforestry operate across multiple spatial and temporal scales, and remain comparatively hard to model. I developed a framework that fits landscape-level composition and configuration indices — incorporating fractal geometry to capture multiscale structure — rather than relying on cell-by-cell spatial agreement. The model was calibrated against observed land-use maps in the SAVA region of northeastern Madagascar, then used to project equilibrium landscapes across a gradient of agroeconomic scenarios representing increasing reliance on vanilla agroforestry. As a proof of concept, the projected landscapes were coupled to a tick population model.
Written up step by step as it was built, including the attempts that did not work — see Research. A retrospective on the three years is in Three Years, Six Semesters.
Software
LUC_Madagascar — CA–Markov land-use change model coupled to a stochastic, agent-based tick population model. Julia; Gillespie simulation, Bayesian optimization (Optuna/TPE), multiscale lacunarity analysis. Run on Ben-Gurion University’s HPC service. repository · Zenodo
MiRA — Multilayer Interactive Rendering Application. Browser-based visualization of multilayer ecological networks, no installation or backend required. live application · preprint
Figaro — built with a team during a lab app-building competition. repository · live application · write-up
Conference
Bloch, Y., & Pilosof, S. (2025). The Devil Is in the Details: Modeling Small-Scale Land-Use Change in Madagascar. Poster. extended materials & poster
Teaching
Teaching assistant, Python for Biologists and Statistics with Python, Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University (2023–present). Course materials are on the teaching page.