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News ReleaseMATHEMATICAL MODELS IN SPATIAL ECOLOGY
November 6, 2001 Providence, RI---As concerns about the environment have grown worldwide, the field of ecology has taken on new prominence. Mathematical models have played an important role throughout the history of ecology by encapsulating in precise, quantitative equations the measurements and qualitative observations of ecologists. One factor that has come increasingly to the fore in theoretical and empirical ecological studies is space: The spatial component of ecological interactions has a crucial impact on how ecological communities are shaped. For example, one now-classical experiment showed that two kinds of mites---one that eats oranges, and another that preys on the orange-eating mites---could coexist provided a spatial arrangement of oranges and rubber balls controlled the mites' dispersal. The article, "Mathematical Challenges in Spatial Ecology," by Claudia Neuhauser, surveys some current work on spatial mathematical models in ecology. Much of this work consists of building spatial dimensions into existing classical models, such as the Lotka-Volterra equations that describe competition between species. Neuhauser and Pacala formulated the Lotka-Volterra model as a spatial model. They found the striking result that coexistence of species is actually harder to get in the spatial than in the non-spatial model. One reason can be traced to how local interactions between individual members of the species are represented in the model. Mathematical models like this one can help ecologists clarify which factors are most important in producing which patterns in species density and representation in different environments. "[C]lose collaboration between mathematicians and experimental biologists is needed for mathematical studies to have an impact on the understanding of how ecosystems function," Neuhauser writes. Neuhauser's article will appear in the December 2001 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society. * * * * * * * * Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life. Mike Breen and Annette Emerson, Public Awareness Officers |
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