REU Site: Mathematical Biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

许多动物生活在群体中，其内部结构反映了多种因素，例如，同种动物之间的领土行为与物理环境的空间安排之间的相互作用，或在由统治或亲属关系建立的社会等级背景下的其他相互作用。该项目将为动物领土和社会互动的结构化模型开发一个统一的数学框架。使用进化图理论，学生研究人员将研究和分类有限种群在不同交互模型下在不同站点的网络上移动和交互的分布。在将要探讨的几个问题中，参与者将设法了解现有的人口结构对同种物种之间的攻击性水平的影响。该项目将为动物种群和社会群体组织和划分为合作或敌对派系的自然出现方式提供理解。参与者将努力创建一个可推广的框架，该框架可以为生态学，进化论和行为科学等多个领域提供见解。由于跨学科的相互作用，许多STEM领域正在发生动态变化，该项目将培养一支能够跨越传统学术和科学界限的新科学家队伍。这个REU网站项目训练本科生在数学和生物科学的界面工作。每年，八名本科生将参加一个为期十周的暑期项目，并将融入由教师领导的研究团队。参与者将接受相关数学技术和生物学概念的培训，他们将从事原创性研究。这个REU的经验将提高参与者的定量、分析和科学沟通技巧，并将为他们的研究生院和科学事业做好准备。

Many animals live in populations whose internal structure reflects multiple factors, for example, the interplay between territorial behavior between conspecifics and the spatial arrangement of the physical environment or other interactions demonstrated within the context of a social hierarchy established by dominance or kinship. This project will develop a unified mathematical framework for structured models of animal territoriality and social interactions. Using evolutionary graph theory, student researchers will study and classify the distribution of finite populations moving and interacting across a network of distinct sites under different models of interaction. Among several questions that will be explored, the participants will seek to understand the effect that the existing population structure has on the level of aggressiveness between conspecifics.This project will provide an understanding for the natural emergence of the ways in which animal populations and social groups organize and partition themselves into cooperative or antagonistic factions. The participants will endeavor to create a generalizable framework which could provide insight in multiple fields such as ecology, evolution, and the behavioral sciences. Many STEM fields are undergoing dynamic changes as a consequence of cross-disciplinary interactions, and this project will develop a diverse cadre of new scientists capable of working across traditional academic and scientific boundaries. This REU Site project trains undergraduate students to work at the interface of mathematics and the biological sciences. Each year, eight undergraduate students will participate in a ten week summer program and will be integrated into research teams lead by faculty members. The participants will be trained in pertinent mathematical techniques and biological concepts and they will engage in original research. This REU experience will improve participants' quantitative, analytical, and scientific communication skills and will prepare them for graduate school and scientific careers.