Introduction: The Mathematics of Ecological Diffusion

Abstract

The mathematical treatment of the essential problem of ecology, the investigation of the interrelations between the distribution and quantity of organisms and their environment, has come into existence only recently. The remarks of Pielou (1969) in her book, An Introduction to Mathematical Ecology, merit consideration:

The fact that ecology is essentially a mathematical subject is becoming ever more widely accepted.—One should not, however, draw the conclusion that mathematical ecology, as a subject, is a unified whole; far from it. Anyone who is dismayed by the seemingly fragmentary nature of the work described in this book must console himself with the thought that the subject is still in its early stages and that the welding together of its disconnected parts is a challenging job yet to be done.