food

Coastal resources are essential for their ability to provide ecosystem services valued by society including food, shoreline protection, flood control, recreation, and water purification (Costanza et al. 1997). This research project seeks to utilize mathematical and statistical techniques to predict the distribution of essential marine habitat and aid in its conservation. The research team is attempting to represent living biomass and associated ecosystems via quantitative descriptions of the physical and geological variables perceived to shape their habitat space.

Bacterial biofilms are microbial depositions on immersed surfaces and are ubiquitous in natural and engineered environments. For example, they play a significant role in medical applications where they can grow on artificial implants and cause infections; they form dental plaques and contribute to tooth decay; they can be utilized to assist in clean-up of contaminated soils or groundwater aquifers; they accelerate corrosion of metal surfaces; and they are a main culprit behind contamination of drinking water systems and food processing equipment.

The spread of pests and pathogens, including exotic insects arriving in packing material and naturalized pests such as the Colorado potato beetle, have a substantial impact on Canadian industry and the economy. Working with food producers, provincial and federal government agencies and wildlife organizations, this project team is developing essential mathematical tools necessary for the management of our natural and agricultural resources. This past year, the group has developed a theory of spreading speeds applicable to many mathematical models of spatial spread in biological systems.