Mathematics Colloquia and Seminars

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Locusts are devastating pests that aggregate in large swarms, destroying crops, pasture, and natural vegetation. The shape of a swarm is correlated with its other collective qualities including density, average speed, and how much food is left uneaten. But each insect is governed by individual behaviors, primarily social interaction with other locusts and attraction to nearby food resources. In this talk, we’ll start to unravel the relationships between collective swarm qualities and individual insect behaviors. We’ll look in depth at two models: a set of partial differential equations (PDE) governing the mean-field density of locusts, and an agent-based model (ABM) that tracks the behavior of each locust. Traveling wave solutions in the PDE characterize collective swarming, feeding, and marching observable in the ABM. By examining 4.4 million parameter combinations, we identify biologically consistent parameters that reproduce field observations.

Seminars this quarter will be online on Zoom. Please see the math bio seminar series email list or contact the organizers for link and password.