A basic introduction to Mathematical Modelling, this book encourages the reader to participate in the investigation of a wide variety of modelling examples. These are carefully paced so that the readers can identify and develop the skills which are required for successful modelling. The examples also promote an appreciation of the enormous range of problems to which mathematical modelling skills can be usefully applied.

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

Employing a practical, "learn by doing" approach, this first-rate text fosters the development of the skills beyond the pure mathematics needed to set up and manipulate mathematical models. The author draws on a diversity of fields — including science, engineering, and operations research — to provide over 100 reality-based examples. Students learn from the examples by applying mathematical methods to formulate, analyze, and criticize models. Extensive documentation, consisting of over 150 references, supplements the models, encouraging further research on models of particular interest. The lively and accessible text requires only minimal scientific background. Designed for senior college or beginning graduate-level students, it assumes only elementary calculus and basic probability theory for the first part, and ordinary differential equations and continuous probability for the second section. All problems require students to study and create models, encouraging their active participation rather than a mechanical approach. Beyond the classroom, this volume will prove interesting and rewarding to anyone concerned with the development of mathematical models or the application of modeling to problem solving in a wide array of applications.

"Engaging, elegantly written." — Applied Mathematical Modelling Mathematical modelling is a highly useful methodology designed to enable mathematicians, physicists and other scientists to formulate equations from a given nonmathematical situation. In this elegantly written volume, a distinguished theoretical chemist and engineer sets down helpful rules not only for setting up models but also for solving the mathematical problems they pose and for evaluating models. The author begins with a discussion of the term "model," followed by clearly presented examples of the different types of models (finite, statistical, stochastic, etc.). He then goes on to discuss the formulation of a model and how to manipulate it into its most responsive form. Along the way Dr. Aris develops a delightful list of useful maxims for would-be modellers. In the final chapter he deals not only with the empirical validation of models but also with the comparison of models among themselves, as well as with the extension of a model beyond its original "domain of validity." Filled with numerous examples, this book includes three appendices offering further examples treated in more detail. These concern longitudinal diffusion in a packed bed, the coated tube chromatograph with Taylor diffusion and the stirred tank reactor. Six journal articles, a useful list of references and subject and name indexes complete this indispensable, well-written guide. "A most useful, readable-and stimulating-book, to be read both for pleasure and for enlightenment." — Bulletin of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications

Over the last several decades, mathematical models have become central to the study of social evolution, both in biology and the social sciences. But students in these disciplines often seriously lack the tools to understand them. A primer on behavioral modeling that includes both mathematics and evolutionary theory, Mathematical Models of Social Evolution aims to make the student and professional researcher in biology and the social sciences fully conversant in the language of the field. Teaching biological concepts from which models can be developed, Richard McElreath and Robert Boyd introduce readers to many of the typical mathematical tools that are used to analyze evolutionary models and end each chapter with a set of problems that draw upon these techniques. Mathematical Models of Social Evolution equips behaviorists and evolutionary biologists with the mathematical knowledge to truly understand the models on which their research depends. Ultimately, McElreath and Boyd’s goal is to impart the fundamental concepts that underlie modern biological understandings of the evolution of behavior so that readers will be able to more fully appreciate journal articles and scientific literature, and start building models of their own.

Mathematical Modeling: Models, Analysis and Applications, Second Edition introduces models of both discrete and continuous systems. This book is aimed at newcomers who desires to learn mathematical modeling, especially students taking a first course in the subject. Beginning with the step-by-step guidance of model formulation, this book equips the reader about modeling with difference equations (discrete models), ODE’s, PDE’s, delay and stochastic differential equations (continuous models). This book provides interdisciplinary and integrative overview of mathematical modeling, making it a complete textbook for a wide audience. A unique feature of the book is the breadth of coverage of different examples on mathematical modelling, which include population models, economic models, arms race models, combat models, learning model, alcohol dynamics model, carbon dating, drug distribution models, mechanical oscillation models, epidemic models, tumor models, traffic flow models, crime flow models, spatial models, football team performance model, breathing model, two neuron system model, zombie model and model on love affairs. Common themes such as equilibrium points, stability, phase plane analysis, bifurcations, limit cycles, period doubling and chaos run through several chapters and their interpretations in the context of the model have been highlighted. In chapter 3, a section on estimation of system parameters with real life data for model validation has also been discussed. Features Covers discrete, continuous, spatial, delayed and stochastic models. Over 250 illustrations, 300 examples and exercises with complete solutions. Incorporates MATHEMATICA® and MATLAB®, each chapter contains Mathematica and Matlab codes used to display numerical results (available at CRC website). Separate sections for Projects. Several exercise problems can also be used for projects. Presents real life examples of discrete and continuous scenarios. The book is ideal for an introductory course for undergraduate and graduate students, engineers, applied mathematicians and researchers working in various areas of natural and applied sciences.

An important resource that provides an overview of mathematical modelling Mathematical Modelling offers a comprehensive guide to both analytical and computational aspects of mathematical modelling that encompasses a wide range of subjects. The authors provide an overview of the basic concepts of mathematical modelling and review the relevant topics from differential equations and linear algebra. The text explores the various types of mathematical models, and includes a range of examples that help to describe a variety of techniques from dynamical systems theory. The book’s analytical techniques examine compartmental modelling, stability, bifurcation, discretization, and fixed-point analysis. The theoretical analyses involve systems of ordinary differential equations for deterministic models. The text also contains information on concepts of probability and random variables as the requirements of stochastic processes. In addition, the authors describe algorithms for computer simulation of both deterministic and stochastic models, and review a number of well-known models that illustrate their application in different fields of study. This important resource: Includes a broad spectrum of models that fall under deterministic and stochastic classes and discusses them in both continuous and discrete forms Demonstrates the wide spectrum of problems that can be addressed through mathematical modelling based on fundamental tools and techniques in applied mathematics and statistics Contains an appendix that reveals the overall approach that can be taken to solve exercises in different chapters Offers many exercises to help better understand the modelling process Written for graduate students in applied mathematics, instructors, and professionals using mathematical modelling for research and training purposes, Mathematical Modelling: A Graduate Textbook covers a broad range of analytical and computational aspects of mathematical modelling.