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Reaction–Diffusion Equations and Ecological Modeling

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Tutorials in Mathematical Biosciences IV

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mathematics ((LNMBIOS,volume 1922))

Reaction-diffusion equations are widely used as models for spatial effects in ecology. They support three important types of ecological phenomena: the existence of a minimal patch size necessary to sustain a population, the propagation of wavefronts corresponding to biological invasions, and the formation of spatial patterns in the distributions of populations in homogeneous environments. Reaction-diffusion equations can be analyzed by means of methods from the theory of partial differential equations and dynamical systems. we will discuss the derivation of reaction-diffusion models in ecology, sketch the basic aspects of their analysis, and describe some of their applications and mathematical properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33124, USA

    C. Cosner

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  1. C. Cosner
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Ohio State University, 231 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210-1292, USA

    Avner Friedman

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Cosner, C. (2008). Reaction–Diffusion Equations and Ecological Modeling. In: Friedman, A. (eds) Tutorials in Mathematical Biosciences IV. Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol 1922. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74331-6_3

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