Biological
systems and soft materials:
Future
directions in statistical physics
A symposium on the interface of statistical
physics, biology, and chemistry
Department of Physics, Virginia Tech
March 6 and 7, 2004
Invited talk:
Alan J. McKane
Department of Theoretical
Physics,
Stochastic
models in population biology and their deterministic analogs
I
discuss a number of problems in population biology using a common formalism
with which to describe their stochastic dynamics. These problems include models
of metapopulations, biodiversity --- including Hubbell's neutral theory --- as
well as more conventional predator-prey and competition models. In contrast to
most previous studies, these processes are modeled using master equations,
which allows use to be made of well-established methods from the theory of
these equations to analyze their behaviors. In this talk I will discuss the
behavior of these systems when they contain a large number of constituents, and
compare their governing equations to those which are normally written down on phenomenological
grounds. The consequences of these, and other novel aspects of the master
equation description for the systems under consideration, will also be
explored.