Mathematical models in biology. An introduction. (English) Zbl 1060.92003

Allman, Elizabeth S.; Rhodes, John A.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-81980-6/hbk; 0-521-52586-1/pbk). xiv, 370 p. (2004).

This is an attractive introduction to the modeling of biological processes at a very elementary level. It is only required that the reader has the prerequisites to learn calculus. All required mathematical concepts, such as basic matrix algebra, linearization and stability analysis of difference equations, elementary probability theory, least squares methods, etc., are introduced when needed, hand in hand with a biological problem.
For instance, the elements of probability theory are developed along with models of molecular evolution. Many exercises motivate the reader to acquire a deeper understanding of the topics treated. Also a substantial number of MATLAB projects are suggested to give the students hands-on experience. Models from the following biological areas are treated: population growth of a single species, multispecies models, structured populations, molecular evolution, phylogenetic trees, population genetics, and infectious diseases. The text is not comprehensive in any way, but tries to draw the attention of students to these fascinating topics.

Reviewer: Reinhard Bürger (Wien)

MSC:

92B05	General biology and biomathematics
92-01	Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to biology

Keywords:

population models; molecular evolution; phylogenetic trees; infectious diseases

Software:

Matlab