Mark A. Lewis - Böcker

Biological invasions are one of the strongest drivers of global environmental change, and invasive species are now often in the public discourse. At the same time, economists have begun to take a real interest in determining how invasive species interact with economic systems, and how invaders should be controlled to optimize societal wealth. Although the work from ecologists and economists have both greatly expanded our understanding of the drivers and impacts of invasions, little integration between the fields has occurred that would allow managers and policy-makers to identify the optical expenditures on, for example, prevention and control of invasive species. Because the level of effort expended on invasive species management is intricately linked to the costs and projected benefits of that management, there is an urgent need for greater synthesis between ecology and economics. This book brings ecology and economics together in new ways to address how we deal with the dynamics and impacts of invasive species, and is the outcome fo many years of collaborative research between a small group of economists and ecologists. The outcome is clear demonstration of the utility of combining ecological and economic models for addressing critical questions in the management of invasive species.

Biological invasions are one of the strongest drivers of global environmental change, and invasive species are now often in the public discourse. At the same time, economists have begun to take a real interest in determining how invasive species interact with economic systems, and how invaders should be controlled to optimize societal welfare. Although the work from ecologists and economists have both greatly expanded our understanding of the drivers and impacts of invasions, little integration between the fields has occurred that would allow managers and policy-makers to identify the optimal expenditures on, for example, prevention and control of invasive species. Because the level of effort expended on invasive species management is intricately linked to the costs and projected benefits of that management, there is an urgent need for greater synthesis between ecology and economics. This book brings ecology and economics together in new ways to address how we deal with the dynamics and impacts of invasive species, and is the outcome of many years of collaborative research between a small group of economists and ecologists. The outcome is a clear demonstration of the utility of combining ecological and economic models for addressing critical questions in the management of invasive species.

Spatial patterns of movement are fundamental to the ecology of animal populations, influencing their social organization, mating systems, demography, and the spatial distribution of prey and competitors. However, our ability to understand the causes and consequences of animal home range patterns has been limited by the descriptive nature of the statistical models used to analyze them. In Mechanistic Home Range Analysis, Paul Moorcroft and Mark Lewis develop a radically new framework for studying animal home range patterns based on the analysis of correlated random work models for individual movement behavior. They use this framework to develop a series of mechanistic home range models for carnivore populations.The authors' analysis illustrates how, in contrast to traditional statistical home range models that merely describe pattern, mechanistic home range models can be used to discover the underlying ecological determinants of home range patterns observed in populations, make accurate predictions about how spatial distributions of home ranges will change following environmental or demographic disturbance, and analyze the functional significance of the movement strategies of individuals that give rise to observed patterns of space use. By providing researchers and graduate students of ecology and wildlife biology with a more illuminating way to analyze animal movement, Mechanistic Home Range Analysis will be an indispensable reference for years to come.

The book presents nine mini-courses from a summer school, Dynamics of Biological Systems, held at the University of Alberta in 2016, as part of the prestigious seminar series: Séminaire de Mathématiques Supérieures (SMS). It includes new and significant contributions in the field of Dynamical Systems and their applications in Biology, Ecology, and Medicine.The chapters of this book cover a wide range of mathematical methods and biological applications. They -       explain the process of mathematical modelling of biological systems with many examples,-       introduce advanced methods from dynamical systems theory,-       present many examples of the use of mathematical modelling to gain biological insight-       discuss innovative methods for the analysis of biological processes,-       contain extensive lists of references, which allow interested readers to continue the research on their own. Integrating the theory of dynamical systems with biological modelling, the book will appeal to researchers and graduate students in Applied Mathematics and Life Sciences.

The book presents nine mini-courses from a summer school, Dynamics of Biological Systems, held at the University of Alberta in 2016, as part of the prestigious seminar series: Séminaire de Mathématiques Supérieures (SMS). It includes new and significant contributions in the field of Dynamical Systems and their applications in Biology, Ecology, and Medicine.The chapters of this book cover a wide range of mathematical methods and biological applications. They -       explain the process of mathematical modelling of biological systems with many examples,-       introduce advanced methods from dynamical systems theory,-       present many examples of the use of mathematical modelling to gain biological insight-       discuss innovative methods for the analysis of biological processes,-       contain extensive lists of references, which allow interested readers to continue the research on their own. Integrating the theory of dynamical systems with biological modelling, the book will appeal to researchers and graduate students in Applied Mathematics and Life Sciences.

This book investigates the mathematical analysis of biological invasions. Unlike purely qualitative treatments of ecology, it draws on mathematical theory and methods, equipping the reader with sharp tools and rigorous methodology.  Subjects include invasion dynamics, species interactions, population spread, long-distance dispersal, stochastic effects, risk analysis, and optimal responses to invaders. While based on the theory of dynamical systems, including partial differential equations and integrodifference equations, the book also draws on information theory, machine learning, Monte Carlo methods, optimal control, statistics, and stochastic processes. Applications to real biological invasions are included throughout. Ultimately, the book imparts a powerful principle: that by bringing ecology and mathematics together, researchers can uncover new understanding of, and effective response strategies to, biological invasions. It is suitable for graduate students and established researchers in mathematical ecology.

This book investigates the mathematical analysis of biological invasions. While based on the theory of dynamical systems, including partial differential equations and integrodifference equations, the book also draws on information theory, machine learning, Monte Carlo methods, optimal control, statistics, and stochastic processes.