Applied Interdisciplinary Mathematics (AIM) Seminar

This seminar will provide the state of the art of how Ecology uses Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Networks to better understand the rules behind the function of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems and predict their responses to current and future environmental crises. It will start with a brief overview of the evolution of ecological modelling from linear to nonlinear dynamics and from random to non-random network structures, followed by a description of the cutting-edge nonlinear models of complex ecological networks. I will present two main applications: 1) Impacts of overfishing on marine food-webs and 2) Impacts of species extinctions and invasions on pollination systems. I will finish explaining how these more mechanistic models stimulate fruitful interaction between empirical and theoretical research, while generating new challenges and opportunities for sensitivity analyses and predictability. Speaker(s): Fernanda Valdovinos (University of Michigan)