NIMBioS Seminar Series

In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series on topics in mathematical biology will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) in the Hallam Auditorium, Room 206, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd. Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served in Room 205 beginning 30 minutes before each talk. Faculty and students from across the UT community are welcome to join us.

Time/Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 3:30 p.m.*
Location: Room 206, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd.
Speaker: Dr. Jake Ferguson, NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellow
Topic: Stochastic models of populations in fluctuating environments
Abstract: All animal populations are in environments that fluctuate through time, however data on the processes generating these fluctuations is often not available. One approach to account for this complexity is to study the long-run probabilistic properties of the fluctuations generated by environmental interactions. We will examine what this approach can teach us about specific cases of population-environment interactions and some of the general stochastic properties generated by these interactions. The emphasis will be on how stochastic models can shed light on unobserved ecological interactions and on the fundamental limitations of the approach. We will conclude by examining why inferring the role of environmental covariates on population growth is so difficult, and how reformulating population dynamics using a more fundamental definition of the growth process may shed light on population-environment interactions.

*Join us for refreshments at 3 p.m. in Room 205.

Seminar Flyer (pdf)

NIMBioS seminars are available for viewing via live streaming during the talk and are archived for later viewing on NIMBioS' YouTube channel.

For more information about this and other NIMBioS Seminars, visit /seminars.

NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-3410
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FAX: (865) 974-9461
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From 2008 until early 2021, NIMBioS was supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF Award #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.