Clutch Size Model

I have been extremely impressed with the level of detail that Brock has been able to cover in his discussions about calculus. It has been very informative for me to listen to his presentations as well. Although we don't expect any of you to be considered as "calculus scholars" after just a couple of days of instruction, I have seen that you all have a greater understanding and appreciation about how calculus works, and even more importantly, you don't fear discussions of issues using calculus as a tool.

I wanted to briefly introduce the clutch size model as an example of how ecologists can use calculus in mathematical models that they use to answer questions in ecology. I have used this approach to study house building in woodrats, foraging in beavers, and reproduction in plants.


Here is a link to the Smart Board Notes.

http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/smart-board-notes-clutch-size

If you ever need a sleep aid, then here are links to a couple of papers where I use mathematical and graphical analysis to try to understand the world. The first is one of the main papers from my Ph.D. and the second is from my Masters.

Parental investment in offspring in variable environments: theoretical and empirical considerations, by Mark McGinley, David Temme, and Monica Geber.
http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/mcginley-temme-and-geber-1989

Central place foraging for non-food items:determination of the stick size-value relationship of house building materials collected by eastern woodrats. by Mark McGinley.
http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/woodrat-paper