HC 399/MTH 399H: Introduction to Mathematical Ecology
Fall 2009

Mathematical methods are increasingly becoming important in the study of ecological systems. This course will introduce mathematical models for applications in ecology and will be accessible for students who have completed first-year courses in differential and integral calculus (e.g. Math 252 or Math 268).

We will study how differential and difference equations are used to model various ecological phenomenon including population growth, spread of infectious diseases, habitat fragmentation, competition between species and predator prey relationships, among others. We will also consider how uncertainty about different aspects of the process to be modeled can be incorporated into the model. The analysis of these models provides insights into the behavior of different phenomenon and suggests various strategies for conservation. We will also consider the numerical solution of different models and I will demonstrate different examples using the software MATLAB.

Students will have the opportunity to meet and hear from OSU faculty researchers in mathematical ecology, including members of the Ecosystems Informatics (EI) strategic initiative at OSU, who will introduce their research and present possibilities for further student involvement. There will be topical lectures as well as discussion of a pertinent paper each week. There will be 3 written assignments as well as a final project for this class.