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Ecological Theories
Theoretical ecology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of ecological systems using theoretical methods such as simple conceptual models, mathematical models, computational simulations, and advanced data analysis. Effective models improve understanding of the natural world by revealing how the dynamics of species populations are often based on fundamental biological conditions and processes. Further, the field aims to unify a diverse range of empirical observations by assuming that common, mechanistic processes generate observable phenomena across species and ecological environments. Based on biologically realistic assumptions, theoretical ecologists are able to uncover novel, non-intuitive insights about natural processes. Theoretical results are often verified by empirical and observational studies, revealing the power of theoretical methods in both predicting and understanding the noisy, diverse biological world. The field is broad and includes foundations in ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discrete Time
In mathematical dynamics, discrete time and continuous time are two alternative frameworks within which variables that evolve over time are modeled. Discrete time Discrete time views values of variables as occurring at distinct, separate "points in time", or equivalently as being unchanged throughout each non-zero region of time ("time period")—that is, time is viewed as a discrete variable. Thus a non-time variable jumps from one value to another as time moves from one time period to the next. This view of time corresponds to a digital clock that gives a fixed reading of 10:37 for a while, and then jumps to a new fixed reading of 10:38, etc. In this framework, each variable of interest is measured once at each time period. The number of measurements between any two time periods is finite. Measurements are typically made at sequential integer values of the variable "time". A discrete signal or discrete-time signal is a time series consisting of a sequence of quantities. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-linear
In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other scientists since most systems are inherently nonlinear in nature. Nonlinear dynamical systems, describing changes in variables over time, may appear chaotic, unpredictable, or counterintuitive, contrasting with much simpler linear systems. Typically, the behavior of a nonlinear system is described in mathematics by a nonlinear system of equations, which is a set of simultaneous equations in which the unknowns (or the unknown functions in the case of differential equations) appear as variables of a polynomial of degree higher than one or in the argument of a function which is not a polynomial of degree one. In other words, in a nonlinear system of equations, the equation(s) to be solved cannot be written as a li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaos Theory
Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of Scientific method, scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and Deterministic system, deterministic Scientific law, laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. These were once thought to have completely random states of disorder and irregularities. Chaos theory states that within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnection, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals and self-organization. The butterfly effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state (meaning there is sensitive dependence on initial conditions). A metaphor for this behavior is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause or prevent a tornado in Texas. Text was copied from this source, which is avai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynomial Map
In algebra, a polynomial map or polynomial mapping P: V \to W between vector spaces over an infinite field ''k'' is a polynomial in linear functionals with coefficients in ''k''; i.e., it can be written as :P(v) = \sum_ \lambda_(v) \cdots \lambda_(v) w_ where the \lambda_: V \to k are linear functionals and the w_ are vectors in ''W''. For example, if W = k^m, then a polynomial mapping can be expressed as P(v) = (P_1(v), \dots, P_m(v)) where the P_i are (scalar-valued) polynomial functions on ''V''. (The abstract definition has an advantage that the map is manifestly free of a choice of basis.) When ''V'', ''W'' are finite-dimensional vector spaces and are viewed as algebraic varieties, then a polynomial mapping is precisely a morphism of algebraic varieties. One fundamental outstanding question regarding polynomial mappings is the Jacobian conjecture, which concerns the sufficiency of a polynomial mapping to be invertible. See also * Polynomial functor References *Claudio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logistic Map
The logistic map is a discrete dynamical system defined by the quadratic difference equation: Equivalently it is a recurrence relation and a polynomial mapping of degree 2. It is often referred to as an archetypal example of how complex, chaotic behaviour can arise from very simple nonlinear dynamical equations. The map was initially utilized by Edward Lorenz in the 1960s to showcase properties of irregular solutions in climate systems. It was popularized in a 1976 paper by the biologist Robert May, in part as a discrete-time demographic model analogous to the logistic equation written down by Pierre François Verhulst. Other researchers who have contributed to the study of the logistic map include Stanisław Ulam, John von Neumann, Pekka Myrberg, Oleksandr Sharkovsky, Nicholas Metropolis, and Mitchell Feigenbaum. Two introductory examples Dynamical Systems example In the logistic map, x is a variable, and r is a parameter. It is a map in the sense that it map ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bifurcation Theory
Bifurcation theory is the Mathematics, mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family of curves, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations. Most commonly applied to the mathematics, mathematical study of dynamical systems, a bifurcation occurs when a small smooth change made to the parameter values (the bifurcation parameters) of a system causes a sudden 'qualitative' or topological change in its behavior. Bifurcations occur in both continuous systems (described by Ordinary differential equation, ordinary, Delay differential equation, delay or Partial differential equation, partial differential equations) and discrete systems (described by maps). The name "bifurcation" was first introduced by Henri Poincaré in 1885 in the first paper in mathematics showing such a behavior. Bifurcation types It is useful to divide bifurcations into two principal classes: * Local bif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logistic Map Bifurcation Diagram, Matplotlib
Logistic may refer to: Mathematics * Logistic function, a sigmoid function used in many fields ** Logistic map, a recurrence relation that sometimes exhibits chaos ** Logistic regression, a statistical model using the logistic function ** Logit, the inverse of the logistic function ** Logistic distribution, the derivative of the logistic function, a continuous probability distribution, used in probability theory and statistics * Mathematical logic, subfield of mathematics exploring the applications of formal logic to mathematics Other uses * Logistics, the management of resources and their distributions ** Logistic engineering, the scientific study of logistics ** Military logistics Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with: * Design, development, Milita ..., the study of logistics at the service of milita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epidemic Model
Mathematical models can project how infectious diseases progress to show the likely outcome of an epidemic (including in plants) and help inform public health and plant health interventions. Models use basic assumptions or collected statistics along with mathematics to find parameters for various infectious diseases and use those parameters to calculate the effects of different interventions, like mass vaccination programs. The modelling can help decide which intervention(s) to avoid and which to trial, or can predict future growth patterns, etc. History The modelling of infectious diseases is a tool that has been used to study the mechanisms by which diseases spread, to predict the future course of an outbreak and to evaluate strategies to control an epidemic. The first scientist who systematically tried to quantify causes of death was John Graunt in his book ''Natural and Political Observations made upon the Bills of Mortality'', in 1662. The bills he studied were listings of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theoretical Ecology
Theoretical ecology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of ecosystem, ecological systems using theoretical methods such as simple conceptual models, mathematical models, computer simulation, computational simulations, and advanced data analysis. Effective models improve understanding of the natural world by revealing how the dynamics of species populations are often based on fundamental biological conditions and processes. Further, the field aims to unify a diverse range of empirical observations by assuming that common, mechanistic processes generate observable phenomena across species and ecological environments. Based on biologically realistic assumptions, theoretical ecologists are able to uncover novel, non-intuitive insights about natural processes. Theoretical results are often verified by empirical and observational studies, revealing the power of theoretical methods in both predicting and understanding the noisy, diverse biological world. The field is broad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Branching Process
In probability theory, a branching process is a type of mathematical object known as a stochastic process, which consists of collections of random variables indexed by some set, usually natural or non-negative real numbers. The original purpose of branching processes was to serve as a mathematical model of a population in which each individual in generation n produces some random number of individuals in generation n+1, according, in the simplest case, to a fixed probability distribution that does not vary from individual to individual. Branching processes are used to model reproduction; for example, the individuals might correspond to bacteria, each of which generates 0, 1, or 2 offspring with some probability in a single time unit. Branching processes can also be used to model other systems with similar dynamics, e.g., the spread of surnames in genealogy or the propagation of neutrons in a nuclear reactor. A central question in the theory of branchi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Matrix
The Leslie matrix is a discrete, age-structured model of population growth named after Patrick H. Leslie and used in population ecology. The Leslie matrix (also called the Leslie model) is one of the most well-known ways to describe the growth of populations (and their projected age distribution), in which a population is closed to migration, growing in an unlimited environment, and where only one sex, usually the female, is considered. The Leslie matrix is used in ecology to model the changes in a population of organisms over a period of time. In a Leslie model, the population is divided into groups based on age classes. A similar model which replaces age classes with ontogenetic stages is called a Lefkovitch matrix, whereby individuals can both remain in the same stage class or move on to the next one. At each time step, the population is represented by a vector with an element for each age class where each element indicates the number of individuals currently in that class. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
