PARENT SESSION
Symposium 16: Death of Determininism? Noise in a Non-Linear World
Organized by: M Pascual and P Rohani
Thursday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, SITCC Oglethorpe Auditorium.
Modeling stochasticity: the use of moment closure techniques.
Keeling, Matt*,1, 1 Dept of Biological Sciences, Coventry, West Midlands, West Midlands
ABSTRACT- Ecologists and epidemiologists are increasingly focusing on stochasticity and spatial heterogeneity as important biological factors. With high-powered computers simulation of such systems is a common modelling technique, however we lack a detailed understanding of the processes involved. Moment closure approximations provide a simple method which can be used to capture the main features of a wide variety of stochastic models and to gain a more intuitive understanding. This presentation focuses on the insights gained from such techniques, and in particular focuses on the behaviour and persistence of finite metapopulations for two common ecological systems: a single species with density dependent growth, and an enemy-victim interaction with epidemiological dynamics.
Key words: disease, correlations, stochasticity, moment closure