Why conservation biology needs mathematics

Conférencière/Speaker
Stephanie Peacock (University of Alberta, University of Toronto)


Résumé: The term conservation biology tends to conjure up images of field research in remote locations and weathered-looking scientists searching for endangered species, but chalkboards, computers, and – yes - mathematics are important tools for the modern-day conservation biologist. Ecological data are often patchy and riddled with error, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the factors driving change in wildlife populations and the environment. Mathematical models can describe the mechanisms that may underlie patterns in ecological data and increase our power to test alternative hypotheses, predict future change, and evaluate the potential outcomes of different management scenarios. In an age where government and industry demand quantitative evidence before action, mathematics may be the key to conservation.

Vendredi 6 mai 2016
19:30 / 7:30 pm

Université de Montréal
Pavillon Jean-Coutu
S1-111 (salle Apotex)

Biographie

Stephanie Peacock est boursière postdoctorale au Centre for Mathematical Biology à l'Université de l'Alberta. Ses recherches se situent au carrefour des mathématiques, de la statistique et de l'écologie. Elle partage son temps entre la modélisation par ordinateur et le travail de terrain fait sur la côté britanno-colombienne où elle étudie l'impact des parasites de l'aquaculture sur l'écologie et la survie du saumon sauvage.

Stephanie Peacock is a postdoctoral research at the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests lie at the intersection of mathematics, statistics, and ecology. She balances time spent modelling at her computer with fieldwork in coastal British Columbia, where she studies the impact of parasites from salmon aquaculture on wild salmon ecology and survival.