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18 views3 pages

Syllabus

Uploaded by

marijamilojevic664
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Mathematical Ecology II – Math/EEB582 - Syllabus Spring 2016

Math 582 Section#1 - EEB 581 Section#1

Dr. Louis Gross ([email protected])


Home Page: http://www.NIMBioS.org /~gross/math582.html
Meeting time: 1:25-2:15
MWF Place: Ayres 122
Final “exam” meeting: May 4 12:30-2:30

Objectives: This is the second course in a sequence. The overall goal of this course
sequence is to provide an overview of mathematical approaches in ecology. The
emphasis is on developing participants appreciation for the variety of approaches an
applied mathematician may take in addressing real-world problems. There is a particular
focus on the development of mathematical models to elucidate general patterns arising in
natural systems. Although the emphasis is on ecological patterns, the approaches we will
discuss are readily applicable across the sciences. By the end of the sequence,
participants should be capable of reading current research and be prepared to pass a
preliminary examination in the field. The course presumes mathematical maturity at the
level of advanced calculus with prior exposure to basic differential equations, linear
algebra, and probability. Although prior experience with Math581 is expected in general,
those who have not taken this first part of the sequence may be able to benefit from just
participating in Math582, and should discuss their objectives with the instructor.

Textbook: Elements of Mathematical Ecology by Mark Kot. Cambridge University


Press, 2001. As was done in Math581, we will follow this text fairly closely. The text will
be supplemented by materials from several texts on the reference list, as well as journal
papers assigned in class. Topics to be covered are given below, though these may be
modified to a certain extent by the interests of class participants.

Format: The course will be taught in mixed lecture/discussion format, with readings
from the text or other materials discussed as appropriate and as needed the instructor will
lecture on material. Class participants will be expected to attend some special colloquia
related to the topics of the course as they are held during the semester. Students who
audit must attend lectures, do the assigned readings and participate in discussions.

Class Grading: I will assign problems related to the course material as homework. You
may work on such problems with others from the course, but you must independently
write up your results, and make it clear with whom you have collaborated on each
homework set. In addition to assignments from the text, which should help you prepare
for a preliminary exam on the topic areas of the course that some of you intend to take, I
expect each participant to (i) participate in a group project and (ii) develop an individual
project that relates to the course sequence topics mathematically and is of use in
preparing you for dissertation/thesis completion. Course grading will be based upon:
assignments (40% of grade), group project (20%), individual project (40%).
Group Project: The objective of this is to provide an opportunity for all participants to
collaborate on a project that involves data in some manner. Since the majority of the
course topics are focused on theory development in ecology and the mathematical
analysis of models arising from this theory, the project offers the opportunity to relate the
theory to data. This will likely involve computational methods, and thus the participants
are expected to learn about these methods as developed for the project.

Individual Project: the objective of this is to encourage participants to delve in some


detail into a particular problem of interest to them, and to provide an opportunity to
practice technical report writing. If appropriate, this project could be heavily
computational rather than focused on mathematical analysis. It is possible that this
project could be used, with further effort, as a basis for either a Masters thesis or a project
for the non-thesis Masters option in the Math Department, or it may assist the participant
in preparing a dissertation. Participants will be expected to choose a project by mid-
semester, and hand in to the instructor a one page description of what they intend to
pursue. The instructor will provide suggested project topics if a participant so desires.
The final project report should be produced as a technical report, in standard scientific
format, and should be in the range of 10-20 typed pages. The report should include an
abstract, an introduction describing background material, a methods section describing
the tools applied, a results section, a conclusions section that particularly includes future
enhancements that are possible, and a bibliography. Participants may make use of any of
a number of tools available on campus in carrying out this project, notably software
tools such as Maple, Mathematica, R and Matlab, as well as specialized ecological
modeling tools such as RAMAS and NetLogo. Alternatively, participants may write their
own codes in any computer language of their choosing. The report is expected to include
any codes or programming notebooks developed as an appendix. The project is due on
the date of the final exam period for the class, during which period each participant is
expected to give a brief 10-15 minute oral presentation on their project, including
appropriate powerpoint or pdf slides.

Topic Coverage for the semester:

Interacting population models


Competition models
Mutualism
Population harvesting and optimal control - introduction to bioeconomics and
optimization methods
Spatially-structured population models
Patch and metapopulation models
Reaction-diffusion models
Linear models and spatial steady-states
Nonlinear models and spatial steady-states
Models of spread
Age-structured population models
Lotka integral equation and renewal equation
Leslie matrices and extensions
McKendrick- von Foerster equation
Simple non-linear models
Two sex models

What we will likely not cover: There are many topics within mathematical ecology that
are not included in this course sequence, some of which are listed below. Any of these
could serve as a basis for the course projects. Note that some of these topics are included
in either special seminar courses such as Math589, or in Math/EEB 681-2. If there is
particular interest on the part of course participants in some of these, I can possibly
rearrange the schedule to briefly include them. Please inform the instructor if you have a
particular interest in one of the below.

Biophysical ecology and physiological ecology models


Stochastic community models
Food web models
Spatial community models
Network models for populations and communities
Cellular automata approaches
Individual-based models
Integro-differential equation models (general delay models)
Integro-difference equation models
Fluctuating environment models
Spatial branching and L-systems
Epidemic models
Neural nets, genetic algorithms, A-life models

Key Professional Journals in the Field:

American Naturalist
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Journal of Mathematical Biology
Journal of Theoretical Biology
Mathematical Biosciences
Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering
Theoretical Ecology
Theoretical Population Biology

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