副教授

大峡谷州立大学
Annis水资源研究所
西海岸线大道740号
密歇根州马斯基根49441号

办公室:密歇根湖中心133号
电话:(616)331-3987
传真:(616)331-3864
电子邮件: (电子邮件保护)

学术背景

• Ph.D., Biology (Theoretical Ecology), University of Pennsylvania, 1979
• B.S., Biology, Davidson College, 1974
   

Current Research Areas — Overview

• Mechanistic models and statistical methods for estimating components of stream metabolism based on free-water dissolved-oxygen dynamics
• Stochastic models of particle transport (e.g., microorganisms, fine particulate organic matter, invertebrates) in streams
• Eco-evolutionary models of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plants subject to management
• 非参数, semi-parametric, and fully parametric methods of statistical time-to-event analysis as applied to data from seed germination experiments
• Statistical methods for estimating abundance of stream fish
• Spatially explicit catchment models linking land use/cover-derived stressors to ecological 条件s in streams
• Physiologically based models of microbial populations

Current Research Areas — Additional Information

• For more-detailed information about my current research, including selected projects and publications, 请访问我的研究网站 在这里.
   

教学

• BIO/NRM 480/580: Techniques for Modeling Biological Systems (Fall semester in even-numbered years, 3 credits). Theories based on mathematical models have long been of fundamental importance in various subdisciplines of the biological sciences. 在种群生物学中, this importance dates back at least as far as the 1700s with, 例如, Euler's work in mathematical demography. 在20世纪早期到中期, t在这里 was a great flowering of mathematical approaches in many areas of biology, 包括生态, 群体遗传学, fisheries and wildlife management, 生物物理学, 流行病学, 生理学, 和生物化学. 最近, mathematical models have become important in new areas, 比如发育生物学, 生物信息学, 分子生物学.

  Despite the rapidly increasing importance of mathematical theories in the biological sciences, biology students often are not required to learn the mathematical and 计算 skills needed to understand, 评估, 应用, 或者建立数学模型. The main purpose of this course is to partially fill this gap by providing biology students with a set of basic mathematical, 计算, and computer graphics skills that will allow them to understand and critically evaluate several of the most common types of models in the biological literature, and to develop new models of their own.

  The main types of models covered in this course are difference equations, 矩阵模型, and ordinary differential equations. No prior knowledge of these topics is assumed. 作为背景, the course begins by refreshing students' memories of various topics in elementary mathematics, including the basic rules of algebra and various standard mathematical functions (power functions, 指数函数, 等.). The course also provides students with an introduction to the required parts of elementary calculus, tailored to biology students and with no prior knowledge assumed.

  Students are shown how to use the R programming language to implement each technique numerically and plot the results. Applications to various branches of modern biology are illustrated with worked examples and readings from the literature. Specific applications examined during the course will be selected based on interests of the students enrolled but may include, 例如, 动物行为学主题, 人口与群落生态, 群体遗传学, fisheries and wildlife management, 生态毒理学, 流行病学, 细胞与有机体生理学, 生物化学, regulation of genes and metabolism, and statistical topics such as least-squares parameter estimation and principal component analysis.

  This is not a mathematics or computer programming course. Emphasis is placed on how to 应用 the various techniques to biological problems rather than on mathematics or programming 本身.

• NRM 582:渔业管理 (Winter semester in odd-numbered years, with Dr. Carl Ruetz, 3学分). This course provides an introduction to basic fisheries science and management, with an emphasis on freshwater systems. It assumes a basic familiarity with fish but no prior knowledge of fisheries management. The course focuses on the process of managing fish populations and their habitat, the required field and laboratory methods and gear, and a variety of useful modeling and statistical tools. Specific topics include statistics for fisheries management (experimental design and hypothesis testing, 回归分析, 模型选择, 重复的措施), length-weight关系, 条件, 年龄与成长, 估算死亡率, 齿轮的偏见, 丰度估计, 人口增长与收获, 每招产出模型, 生物能学模型, 库存和规章制度.

• BIO 580: R programming for scientific computing (Winter semester in even-numbered years, 3 credits). This course uses the R programming language to introduce students to the craft of writing computer programs for applications in the biological sciences. The emphasis is on programming concepts and constructs common to many programming languages that are widely used in scientific applications, though some of the most useful idiosyncratic features of R are included, 也. The course covers basic programming techniques, various numerical methods that are useful in scientific applications in the biological sciences, 以及技术图形.