Progress in plant biology relies on the quantification, analysis and mathematical modeling of data over different time and length scales. This book describes common mathematical and computational approaches as well as some carefully chosen case studies that demonstrate the use of these techniques to solve problems at the forefront of plant biology. Each chapter is written by an expert in field with the goal of conveying concepts whilst at the same time providing sufficient background and links to available software for readers to rapidly build their own models and run their own simulations. This book is aimed at postgraduate students and researchers working the field of plant systems biology and synthetic biology, but will also be a useful reference for anyone wanting to get into quantitative plant biology.
Exploring Mathematical Modeling in Biology through Case Studies and Experimental Activities provides supporting materials for courses taken by students majoring in mathematics, computer science or in the life sciences. The book's cases and lab exercises focus on hypothesis testing and model development in the context of real data. The supporting mathematical, coding and biological background permit readers to explore a problem, understand assumptions, and the meaning of their results. The experiential components provide hands-on learning both in the lab and on the computer. As a beginning text in modeling, readers will learn to value the approach and apply competencies in other settings. Included case studies focus on building a model to solve a particular biological problem from concept and translation into a mathematical form, to validating the parameters, testing the quality of the model and finally interpreting the outcome in biological terms. The book also shows how particular mathematical approaches are adapted to a variety of problems at multiple biological scales. Finally, the labs bring the biological problems and the practical issues of collecting data to actually test the model and/or adapting the mathematics to the data that can be collected.
This introductory textbook on mathematical biology focuses on discrete models across a variety of biological subdisciplines. Biological topics treated include linear and non-linear models of populations, Markov models of molecular evolution, phylogenetic tree construction, genetics, and infectious disease models. The coverage of models of molecular evolution and phylogenetic tree construction from DNA sequence data is unique among books at this level. Computer investigations with MATLAB are incorporated throughout, in both exercises and more extensive projects, to give readers hands-on experience with the mathematical models developed. MATLAB programs accompany the text. Mathematical tools, such as matrix algebra, eigenvector analysis, and basic probability, are motivated by biological models and given self-contained developments, so that mathematical prerequisites are minimal.
This book is a textbook (it includes, for example, exercises and outline solutions). The plant scientist is shown how to express physiological ideas mathematically and how to deduce quantitative conclusions, which can then be compared with experiment. There is little new biology in the book, but it is presented in a way that will be new to many biologists. The matching of models to experiments means using mathematics for formulating biological concepts and second, using algebra, calculus, or, now more frequently, computers to solve or simulate the resulting model; and finally, comparing, qualitatively or quantitatively, prediction to measurement. Computers are the important enabling technology that makes it all possible: solving equations, assembling models of increasing sophistication and complexity, and comparing theory with experiment. The book is divided into three parts. Part I. Covers subjects of wide relevance to modelling and plant biology. Part II. The reader may choose to select topics of particular interest from part II. However, the whole-plant modeller will need to study all chapters, and the plant ecosystem modeller may need to add other material also. Part III. Plant morphology is at an introductory level. It is included because morphological characters may prove to be of equal importance to some physiological traits in determining plant function and performance. "This textbook presents, in an interesting and clearly written fashion, a mathematical approach to a wide range of topics in plant and crop physiology, including light interception, leaf and canopy photosynthesis, respiration, partitioning, transpiration and water relations, branching and phyllotaxis. The biochemistry of plant growth and maintenanace is also presented in some detail. I was very pleased with the text, especially with the philosophy presented by the authors that biological models are necessarily simplifications of complex detail. I would strongly recommend it for reading and consultation by graduates and research workers." J. Exp. Botany "The authors' approach succeeds admirably, giving a thorough account of the mathematical toolbox available to researchers and the areas in which those tools have been used." Plant, Cell and Environment "Combining considerable technical cleverness with creativity and the refreshing notion that science is a "common-sense, unpredictable, fascinating and thoroughly human activity." Times Higher Educational Supplement "Exceptionally scholarly volume. Logical and systematic. Authors have assembled a mass of mathematical material in an elegant layout." Agricultural Systems
Mathematical Modelling in Science and Technology: The Fourth International Conference covers the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference by the same title, held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland on August 15-17, 1983. Mathematical modeling is a powerful tool to solve many complex problems presented by scientific and technological developments. This book is organized into 20 parts encompassing 180 chapters. The first parts present the basic principles, methodology, systems theory, parameter estimation, system identification, and optimization of mathematical modeling. The succeeding parts discuss the features of stochastic and numerical modeling and simulation languages. Considerable parts deal with the application areas of mathematical modeling, such as in chemical engineering, solid and fluid mechanics, water resources, medicine, economics, transportation, and industry. The last parts tackle the application of mathematical modeling in student management and other academic cases. This book will prove useful to researchers in various science and technology fields.
This book developed from classes in mathematical biology taught by the authors over several years at the Technische Universität München. The main themes are modeling principles, mathematical principles for the analysis of these models and model-based analysis of data. The key topics of modern biomathematics are covered: ecology, epidemiology, biochemistry, regulatory networks, neuronal networks and population genetics. A variety of mathematical methods are introduced, ranging from ordinary and partial differential equations to stochastic graph theory and branching processes. A special emphasis is placed on the interplay between stochastic and deterministic models.
Thirty years ago, biologists could get by with a rudimentary grasp of mathematics and modeling. Not so today. In seeking to answer fundamental questions about how biological systems function and change over time, the modern biologist is as likely to rely on sophisticated mathematical and computer-based models as traditional fieldwork. In this book, Sarah Otto and Troy Day provide biology students with the tools necessary to both interpret models and to build their own. The book starts at an elementary level of mathematical modeling, assuming that the reader has had high school mathematics and first-year calculus. Otto and Day then gradually build in depth and complexity, from classic models in ecology and evolution to more intricate class-structured and probabilistic models. The authors provide primers with instructive exercises to introduce readers to the more advanced subjects of linear algebra and probability theory. Through examples, they describe how models have been used to understand such topics as the spread of HIV, chaos, the age structure of a country, speciation, and extinction. Ecologists and evolutionary biologists today need enough mathematical training to be able to assess the power and limits of biological models and to develop theories and models themselves. This innovative book will be an indispensable guide to the world of mathematical models for the next generation of biologists. A how-to guide for developing new mathematical models in biology Provides step-by-step recipes for constructing and analyzing models Interesting biological applications Explores classical models in ecology and evolution Questions at the end of every chapter Primers cover important mathematical topics Exercises with answers Appendixes summarize useful rules Labs and advanced material available
Now available in an affordable softcover edition, this classic in Springer's acclaimed Virtual Laboratory series is the first comprehensive account of the computer simulation of plant development. 150 illustrations, one third of them in colour, vividly demonstrate the spectacular results of the algorithms used to model plant shapes and developmental processes. The latest in computer-generated images allow us to look at plants growing, self-replicating, responding to external factors and even mutating, without becoming entangled in the underlying mathematical formulae involved. The authors place particular emphasis on Lindenmayer systems - a notion conceived by one of the authors, Aristid Lindenmayer, and internationally recognised for its exceptional elegance in modelling biological phenomena. Nonetheless, the two authors take great care to present a survey of alternative methods for plant modelling.
This short textbook introduces students to the concept of describing natural systems using mathematical models. We highlight the variety of ways in which natural systems lend themselves to mathematical description and the importance of models in revealing fundamental processes. The process of science via the building, testing and use of models (theories) is described and forms the structure of the book. The book covers a broad range from the molecular to ecosystems and whole-Earth phenomena. Themes running through the chapters include scale (temporal and spatial), change (linear and nonlinear), emergent phenomena and uncertainty. Mathematical descriptions are kept to a minimum and we illustrate mechanisms and results in graphical form wherever possible. Essential mathematical details are described fully, with the use of boxes. The mathematics supports but does not lead the text.
