Related papers: Sampling alien species inside and outside protecte…
We consider a partial differential equation model for the growth of heterogeneous cell populations subdivided into multiple distinct discrete phenotypes. In this model, cells preferentially move towards regions where they feel less…
We use interacting particle systems to investigate survival and extinction of a species with colonies located on each site of $\mathbb {Z}^d$. In each of the four models studied, an individual in a local population can reproduce, die or…
The physics of the outer layers of a star are not well understood but these layers make a major contribution to the large separation. We quantify this using stellar models and show that the contribution ranges from 6\% from the outer 0.1\%…
Species interactions (ranging from direct predator prey relationships to indirect effects mediated by the environment) are central to ecosystem balance and biodiversity. While empirical methods for measuring these interactions exist, their…
Spatial extent is a complicating factor in mathematical biology. The possibility that an action at point A cannot immediately affect what happens at point B creates the opportunity for spatial nonuniformity. This nonuniformity must change…
We re-examine the likelihood for alien civilizations to develop communication technology on the basis of the general assumption that life elsewhere could have a non-carbon chemical foundation. We particularized the discussion to a complex…
Measures of biodiversity change such as the Living Planet Index describe proportional change in the abundance of a typical species, which can be thought of as change in the size of a community. Here, I discuss the orthogonal concept of…
We present a new model for extinction in which species evolve in bursts or `avalanches', during which they become on average more susceptible to environmental stresses such as harsh climates and so are more easily rendered extinct. Results…
Negative ions have been detected in abundance in recent years by spacecraft across the solar system. These detections were, however, made by instruments not designed for this purpose and, as such, significant uncertainties remain regarding…
Both evolution and ecology have long been concerned with the impact of variable environmental conditions on observed levels of genetic diversity within and between species. We model the evolution of a quantitative trait under selection that…
Difficulties identifying appropriate biodiversity impact metrics remain a major barrier to inclusion of biodiversity considerations in environmentally responsible investment. We propose and analyse a simple science-based local metric: the…
Over the last few decades, ecologists have come to appreciate that key ecological patterns, which describe ecological communities at relatively large spatial scales, are not only scale dependent, but also intimately intertwined. The…
Additive genetic variance in natural populations is commonly estimated using mixed models, in which the covariance of the genetic effects is modeled by a genetic similarity matrix derived from a dense set of markers. An important but…
In this paper we aim to simulate realistic exoplanet populations across different regions of the MW by combining state-of-the-art cosmological simulations of our Galaxy with exoplanet formation models and observations. We model the…
We use a volume-limited galaxy sample from the SDSS Data Release 7 to explore the dependence of galactic conformity on the large-scale environment, measured on $\sim$ 4 Mpc scales. We find that the star formation activity of neighbour…
Plant functional trait variation in tropical forests is central to predicting ecosystem responses to change. Informaiton on traits is limited relative to the diversity of climate, landforms, disturbance regimes and species present. These…
The search for an inhabited planet, other than our own, is a driver of planetary exploration in our solar system and beyond. Using information from our own planet to inform search strategies allows for a targeted search. It is, however,…
Several international agreements have called for the rapid expansion of protected areas to halt biodiversity declines. However, recent research has shown that expanding protected areas may be less cost-effective than redirecting resources…
We explore the impact of outer stellar companions on the occurrence rate of giant planets detected with radial velocities. We searched for stellar and planetary companions to a volume-limited sample of solar-type stars within 25 pc. Using…
Long range dependence or long memory is a feature of many processes in the natural world, which provides important insights on the underlying mechanisms that generate the observed data. The usual tools available to characterize the…