The funding requested for this project will support the participation of U.S. based junior faculty and graduate students in a conference whose general theme will be on the theory, modeling, and analysis of the temporal dynamics of biological populations. Mathematical modeling and analysis can be used to give insight and better understand the dynamics of biological populations. Mathematical models are built on trade-offs between biological accuracy and mathematical tractability. Of particular importance are the effects on a population's dynamics of modeling assumptions concerning spatial or temporal heterogeneities or concerning heterogeneities among the characteristics of individuals within the population and how these characteristics affect the way they interact with their environment. The invited speakers will address a wide variety of theoretical issues, applications (ecological, epidemiological, etc.), and case studies that illustrate the connection of models with data. This meeting will develop understanding in new directions for the area of mathematical population biology that will have significant influence in years to come and will be of particular benefit for the young participants in this conference.
