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A Biologist's Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution Export

(20 February 2007)

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Thirty years ago, biologists could get by with a rudimentary grasp ofmathematics and modeling. Not so today. In seeking to answer fundamentalquestions about how biological systems function and change over time, themodern biologist is as likely to rely on sophisticated mathematical andcomputer-based models as traditional fieldwork. In this book, Sarah Otto andTroy Day provide biology students with the tools necessary to both interpretmodels and to build their own.The book starts at an elementary level of mathematical modeling, assuming thatthe reader has had high school mathematics and first-year calculus. Otto andDay then gradually build in depth and complexity, from classic models inecology and evolution to more intricate class-structured and probabilisticmodels. The authors provide primers with instructive exercises to introducereaders to the more advanced subjects of linear algebra and probabilitytheory. Through examples, they describe how models have been used tounderstand such topics as the spread of HIV, chaos, the age structure of acountry, speciation, and extinction.Ecologists and evolutionary biologists today need enough mathematical trainingto be able to assess the power and limits of biological models and to developtheories and models themselves. This innovative book will be an indispensableguide to the world of mathematical models for the next generation ofbiologists. * A how-to guide for developing new mathematical models in biology * Provides step-by-step recipes for constructing and analyzing models * Interesting biological applications * Explores classical models in ecology and evolution * Questions at the end of every chapter * Primers cover important mathematical topics * Exercises with answers * Appendixes summarize useful rules * Labs and advanced material available


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