Discusses biological clocks, plus topics in ecology, neurobiology, and extinction

Several data banks around the world are accumulating DNA sequences at a feverish rate, with tremendous potential for furthering our knowledge of how biological systems code and pass on information. The sophisticated mathematical analysis of that data is just beginning. The Eighteenth Annual Symposium on Some Mathematical Questions in Biology was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the AAAS and brought together speakers knowledgeable in both biology and mathematics to discuss these developments and to emphasize the need for rigorous, efficient computational tools. These computational tools include biologically relevant definitions of sequence similarity and string matching algorithms. The solutions for some of these problems have great generality; the string matching methods first developed for biological sequences have now been applied to areas such as geology, linguistics, and speech recognition. There is a great potential here for creating of new mathematics to handle this growing data base, with new applications for many areas of mathematics, computer science, and statistics.

Distinguishing itself among other books on mathematics in plant biology, this book is unique in that it presents a broad overview of how plant biologists are currently utilizing mathematics in their research, and the only one to particularly emphasize plant ecology. Each article is unified by an attempt to tie models at one level of organization to an understanding at other levels. This approach strengthens the connections between theoretical development and observable biology, facilitating the testing of new predictions. Intended for mathematicians, plant biologists and ecologists alike, this book requires only a basic knowledge of differential equations, linear algebra and mathematical modeling; a knowledge of plant biology is helpful. Readers will gain a perspective on what types of biological systems can benefit from mathematical treatment and an appreciation of the current important problems in plant biology.

Covers topics in evolutionary biology, the development of pattern, and color perception

Population biology has had a long history of mathematical modeling. The 1920s and 1930s saw major strides with the work of Lotka and Volterra in ecology and Fisher, Haldane, and Wright in genetics. In recent years, much more sophisticated mathematical techniques have been brought to bear on questions in population biology. Simultaneously, advances in experimental and field work have produced a wealth of new data. While this growth has tended to fragment the field, one unifying theme is that similar mathematical questions arise in a range of biological contexts. This volume contains the proceedings of a symposium on Some Mathematical Questions in Biology, held in Chicago in 1987. The papers all deal with different aspects of population biology, but there are overlaps in the mathematical techniques used; for example, dynamics of nonlinear differential and difference equations form a common theme. The topics covered are cultural evolution, multilocus population genetics, spatially structured population genetics, chaos and the dynamics of epidemics, and the dynamics of ecological communities.

Deals with two principal areas of theoretical biology: developmental biology, and biomechanics

This volume contains the proceedings of the 22nd annual Symposium on Some Mathematical Questions in Biology, held in May, 1988 in Las Vegas. The diversity of current research in the dynamics of excitable media is reflected in the six papers in this volume. The topics covered include a mathematical treatment of phase-locking, numerical results for models of synchronization in the mammalian sinoatrial node, simulations of a model of the hippocampus, and wave propagation in excitable media. Both experimental and theoretical aspects are treated. Aimed at mathematicians, physiologists, and cardiologists, the book requires only background in differential equations. Readers will gain a broad perspective on current research activity in the modeling, analysis, and simulation of systems with excitable media.

Covers problems in ecology, evolutionary biology, and neurobiology

Mathematical Models in Biology is an introductory book for readers interested in biological applications of mathematics and modeling in biology. A favorite in the mathematical biology community, it shows how relatively simple mathematics can be applied to a variety of models to draw interesting conclusions. Connections are made between diverse biological examples linked by common mathematical themes. A variety of discrete and continuous ordinary and partial differential equation models are explored. Although great advances have taken place in many of the topics covered, the simple lessons contained in this book are still important and informative. Audience: the book does not assume too much background knowledge--essentially some calculus and high-school algebra. It was originally written with third- and fourth-year undergraduate mathematical-biology majors in mind; however, it was picked up by beginning graduate students as well as researchers in math (and some in biology) who wanted to learn about this field.