2014-15:ECOL: The Physical Ecology of Organism Mixing and Dispersal in Fluids: March 16-18, 2015
Workshop Information
Description
While numerous studies have considered dispersal mechanisms and modeling in specific taxonomic groups and ecosystems, there remains little understanding of their unifying physical principles. Furthermore, the trade-off between simplifying assumptions and robustness of the mathematical models and associated data used to develop them has been given limited consideration. In this workshop, we began to address this limitation by linking long distance dispersal across air- and water-dwelling organisms and pathogens to their shared mechanical and mathematical frameworks.
We focused our consideration on mathematical connections including fluid dynamics, stochastic processes, dispersal kernels, dynamical networks, and Bayesian approaches to model development and parameterization. We discussed background on specific biological systems, along with associated model development and validation. Significant time was also devoted to a discussion of future challenges in understanding long distance dispersal influenced by fluid physics, including: (i) modeling techniques to connect dynamics at various spatial and temporal scales; (ii) data collection protocols and data accessibility; (iii) dynamic networks and network parameterization; and (iv) code generation that is well-documented and generally applicable. Specific applications we considered were (i) the dispersal of thrips and parasitoid wasps in air, (ii) the transmission of invasive species through shipping networks, and (iii) the transmission of pathogens through violent respiratory events.
Schedule
Monday, March 16, 2015
at SAMSI
| 8:00-8:45 a.m. | Registration and Coffee |
| 8:45-9:00 | Opening Remarks: Laura Miller, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill |
| 9:00-9:30 | Opening Discussion |
| 9:30-10:15 | Virginia Pasour, ARO, and Lea Jenkins, Clemson University Progress report on Shipping Lanes Project |
| 10:15-10:30 | Break |
| 10:30-11:15 | Laura Miller, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Christopher Strickland, SAMSI, Arvind Santhanakrishnan, Oklahoma State University Progress report on Predictive Models for Thrips |
| 11:15-12:00 | Nadiah Kristensen, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Windborne dispersal patterns of parasitoids |
| 12:00-1:30 | Lunch |
| 1:30-2:15 | Lauren Childs, Harvard University Connections between epidemiology, long distance pathogen dispersal, and network models |
| 2:15-3:00 | Status review: Organism Mixing and Dispersal in the Ecosystem |
| 3:00-5:00 | Research subgroup discussions (Breakout sessions) |
| 5:30-7:30 | Poster Session and Reception (This is for the Microbiome Workshop but we are welcome to attend. The shuttle will depart after the reception.) |
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
at SAMSI
| 8:00-8:45 a.m. | Registration and Coffee |
| 8:45-9:00 | Announcements: Laura Miller, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill |
| 9:00-12:00 | Laura Miller, UNC-Chapel Hill Discussion of outline for Organism Mixing and Dispersal in the Ecosystem |
| 12:00-1:30 | Lunch |
| 1:30-3:00 | Subgroup research meetings |
| 3:00-3:30 | Break |
| 3:30-4:00 | Continued subgroup research meetings |
| 4:15-5:00 | Subgroup reports |
| 5:00 | Shuttle departs |
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
at SAMSI
| 8:00-8:45 a.m. | Registration and Coffee |
| 8:45-9:00 | Announcements: Laura Miller, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill |
| 9:00-9:45 | Virginia Pasour, ARO, and Lea Jenkins, Clemson University Summary review on Shipping Lanes Project |
| 9:45-10:30 | Laura Miller, UNC-Chapel Hill Christopher Strickland, SAMSI Summary review, Thrips Project |
| 10:30-11:15 | Summary review, Organism Mixing and Dispersal in the Ecosystem |
| 11:15-1:00 | Path forward |
| 1:00 | Adjourn and Box Lunch |