SUMS: Sutherland -- Sequential Hermaphrodites: Kinky Population Dynamics

Hello Friends, 

It’s the first week of semester so it’s Duncan talking again and he’s dredged up an old
talk, partly because no-one remembers 2009 but mostly because he’s lazy: 

Sequential Hermaphrodites: Kinky Population Dynamics Honours course talk 2008, repeated
for SUMS in 2009.  

A sequential hermaphrodite fish, such as Wrasse or Clownfish, is born as one sex and
later under goes transition to the opposite sex.  This is kinky.  This talk was
originally presented as assessment for the applied maths honours course ’Populations and
Disease’.  The assignment was to find three papers with a common theme in the area of
mathematical biology and present a short talk about them.  A continuously structured
population model, due to Calsina and Ripoll, will be discussed.  The model assumes a
random age transition between the sexes.  The fecundity (birth) and mortality functions
are arbitrary and only restricted by obvious biological considerations.  A stage
structured population model including the effects of fishing, by Armsworth, will also be
discussed.  Time permitting, the talk will include discussion of a third paper about
optimal breeding stragies for sequential hermaphrodites.  The speaker is also available
for private parties.  

There should be pizza.

NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE. Sorry for inconvenience.