Readings

Lec # Topics Readings

Complexity, Stability, and the Struggle for Existence

1

Predator-prey Models

Buy at Amazon Lotka, A. Elements of Mathematical Biology. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc. 1925, Reprinted 1957. ISBN: 9780486603469.

Volterra, V. "Fluctuations in the Abundance of a Species Considered Mathematically." Nature 118 (1926): 558-560.

2

Supplemental Information Ecological Experiments

Gause, G. F. "The Struggle for Existence." Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins, 1934a. (Full text ).

———. "Experimental Analysis of Vito Volterra's Mathematical Theory of the Struggle for Existence." Science 79 (1934b): 16-17.

3

Supplemental Information Niche Theory

Hutchinson, G. E. Concluding Remarks. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quan Biol 22 (1957): 415-427.

———. "Homage to Santa Rosalia, Or Why Are There So Many Kinds of Animals?" American Naturalist 93 (1959): 254-259.

4

Stability of Complex Systems

Buy at Amazon May, R. M. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780691088617.

Kerner, E. H. "Why Are There So Many Species?" Bull Math Biol 36 (1974): 477-488.

5

Supplemental Information Competitive Exclusion

Armstrong, R. A., and R. McGehee. "Competitive Exclusion." American Naturalist 115 (1980): 151-170.

6

Chaotic Dynamics

Cushing, J. M., et al. "A Chaotic Attractor in Ecology: Theory and Experimental Data." Chaos Solitons and Fractals 12 (2001): 219-234.

7

Network Theory

Krapivsky, P. L., and S. Redner. "Organization of Growing Random Networks." Cond-mat/0011094, 2000.

Strogatz, S. H. "Exploring Complex Networks." Nature 410 (2001): 268-276.

Spatial Interactions

8

Population Dispersal

Skellam, J. G. "Random Dispersal in Theoretical Populations." Biometrika 38 (1951): 196-216.

9

Patchiness

MacArthur, R. H., and E. R. Pianka. "On Optimal Use of a Patchy Environment." American Naturalist 100 (1966): 603-609.

10

Pattern and Scale

Levin, S. A. "The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology." Ecology 73 (1992): 1943-1967.

11

Spatial Models and Interacting Particle Systems

Durrett, R. "Stochastic Spatial Models." SIAM Review 41 (1994): 677-718.

12

Lattice-gas Models

Satulovsky, J. E., and T. Tome. "Stochastic Lattice Gas Model for a Predator-prey System." Phys Rev E 49 (1994): 5073-5079.

13

Plankton Patchiness

Flierl, G., D. Grunbaum, S. Levin, and D. Olson. "From Individuals to Aggregations: The Interplay Between Behavior and Physics." Journal of Theoretical Biology 196 (1999): 397-454.

14

Supplemental Information Scaling from Trees to Forests

Plotkin, J. B., et al. "Predicting Species Diversity in Tropical Forests." Proc Natl Acad Sci 97 (2000): 10850-10854.

Co-evolution with the Environment

15

Evolution of Biodiversity

Buy at Amazon Signor, P. W., III. "Real and Apparent Trends in Species Richness Through Time." In Phanerozoic Diversity Patterns. Edited by J. W. Valentine. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986, pp. 129-150. ISBN: 9780691083742.

———. "The Geologic History of Diversity." Annu Rev Ecol Syst 21 (1990): 509-539.

16

Supplemental Information Adaptation and Diversification

Lenski, R. E., and M. Travisano. "Dynamics of Adapatation and Diversification: A 10,000-generation Experiment with Bacterial Populations." Proc Natl Acad Sci 91 (1994): 6808-6814.

17

Artificial Life and Biological Complexity

Adami, C., C. Ofria, and T. C. Collier. "Evolution of Biological Complexity." Proc Natl Acad Sci 97 (2000): 4463-4468.

18

Cycles

Kauffman, S. "Metabolic Stability and Epigenesis in Randomly Constructed Genetic Nets." Journal of Theoretical Biology 22 (1969): 437-467.

Student Presentations

19

Reactivity, Stability, and Plankton (2 Presentations)

  

20

Theory of Productivity-Diversity Relationships

  

21

Evolution of Virulence in Host-Pathogen Systems

  

22

Renormalization Approach to Biological Systems

  

23

Directed Motion in Lotka-Volterra Models

  

24

Supplemental Information "Highly Optimized Tolerance" and Ecology

  

25

Theory of Vegetation Patterns