Abstract
The study of food webs has occurred over the last 50 years, generally by ecologists working in natural habitats with specific relatively narrow interests in mind. At the outset, a few mathematicians became interested in the graph-theoretic properties of food webs and their corresponding competition graphs; however, linkages between ecologists', mathematicians', and conservationists' interests and results were few and far between. This chapter introduces food webs and various corresponding graphs and parameters to those interested in important research areas that link mathematics and ecology. A basic background on food webs and graphs is provided, with exercises to further illustrate the concepts. Numerous research questions are posed, with references to preliminary work on these questions.
Original language | American English |
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Title of host publication | Algebraic and Discrete Mathematical Methods for Modern Biology |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Pages | 29-49 |
Number of pages | 21 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128012710 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780128012130 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 25 2015 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Mathematics
Keywords
- Competition graphs
- Directed graphs
- Food web
- Graphs
- Habitat dimensions
- Interval graphs
- Predators/prey
- Projection graphs
- Trophic status