Date Thesis Awarded
5-2011
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Mathematics
Advisor
Sarah Day
Committee Members
Leah B. Shaw
Junping Shi
Robert Michael Lewis
Abstract
Ecologists use Ricker patch models to study meta-population dynamics for populations undergoing growth and dispersal in a patchy environment. This project uses a modified model in which patch-wise extinction thresholds are used to model local extinction events. Computational homology is used to measure shifts in spatial patterns as extinction occurs and to quantify the ways in which dispersal rates affect pattern formation and degradation. Numerical simulations for certain parameters exhibit a decoupling of the system into small regions with periodic dynamics prior to extinction. Lastly, the existence of certain stable periodic orbits which affect population robustness are rigorously proven to exist.
Recommended Citation
Holman, Benjamin Robert, "Topological Characterization of Extinction in a Coupled Ricker Patch Model" (2011). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 393.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/393
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Comments
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.