NUMEV MIPS Seminar: “Modeling Population Dynamics and Species Distribution: Challenges at the Interface of Physics and Ecology”

Predicting biodiversity dynamics in the context of environmental change is a major challenge for science and society. In particular, modeling the spatial distribution of populations and studying the impact of interspecific interactions on biodiversity patterns have long been addressed by ecologists and physicists. Various modeling methods, including differential equation models, stochastic modeling approaches, and cellular automata, have been explored in both disciplines, but conceptual and practical obstacles remain to a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics.

I will discuss the ongoing dialogue between ecologists and physicists in the context of two types of ecological models: metapopulation and metacommunity approaches. The first examines the probability of species populations occurring across a set of potential habitat units, forming a spatial network on which colonization and extinction events take place. The second examines whether and how many species can coexist within habitat units, depending on the nature and structure of their interactions.

I will conclude by highlighting a few specific and concrete challenges for which it will be essential to continue and deepen the scientific collaboration between physics and ecology.