UBM: Undergraduate Research in Metapopulation Ecology

College Of William And Mary, Williamsburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This project establishes an undergraduate training program in mathematical biology based on a core group of six faculty, three biologists and three mathematicians, that will serve as an accessible bridge between the departments and foster long-term collaborative teaching and research. The main focus is on paired undergraduate mentoring, with each student being mentored by a mathematician and a biologist on a multi-year research project studying the dynamics and viability of animal metapopulations. New bio-math courses will be developed and a regional bio-math conference will be organized biannually. Students and faculty will study how the survival, growth and dispersal of sub-populations of animals affects the long-term viability of the (meta)population these sub-populations comprise. As urbanization and habitat fragmentation continues, understanding how dynamics of small sub-populations affects the viability of large metapopulations is fundamental to conservation science and assessment of extinction risk. This project offers students the opportunity to blend theoretical mathematical and field-based biological techniques to answer ecologically-important questions. The primary educational objective is to produce more graduate and professional bio-mathematicians through offering enticing research opportunities and exciting coursework. By partnering with a local community college, recruitment will focus on students currently missing these opportunities - Hispanics and African-Americans. Over five years, this project will enable faculty to mentor 35 undergraduate researchers, teach hundreds in new bio-math courses, and affect thousands through our biannual bio-math conferences.