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Full-Text Articles in Other Mathematics
Bioinformatic Game Theory And Its Application To Cluster Multi-Domain Proteins, Brittney Keel
Bioinformatic Game Theory And Its Application To Cluster Multi-Domain Proteins, Brittney Keel
Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The exact evolutionary history of any set of biological sequences is unknown, and all phylogenetic reconstructions are approximations. The problem becomes harder when one must consider a mix of vertical and lateral phylogenetic signals. In this dissertation we propose a game-theoretic approach to clustering biological sequences and analyzing their evolutionary histories. In this context we use the term evolution as a broad descriptor for the entire set of mechanisms driving the inherited characteristics of a population. The key assumption in our development is that evolution tries to accommodate the competing forces of selection, of which the conservation force seeks to …
Random Search Models Of Foraging Behavior: Theory, Simulation, And Observation., Ben C. Nolting
Random Search Models Of Foraging Behavior: Theory, Simulation, And Observation., Ben C. Nolting
Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Many organisms, from bacteria to primates, use stochastic movement patterns to find food. These movement patterns, known as search strategies, have recently be- come a focus of ecologists interested in identifying universal properties of optimal foraging behavior. In this dissertation, I describe three contributions to this field. First, I propose a way to extend Charnov's Marginal Value Theorem to the spatially explicit framework of stochastic search strategies. Next, I describe simulations that compare the efficiencies of sensory and memory-based composite search strategies, which involve switching between different behavioral modes. Finally, I explain a new behavioral analysis protocol for identifying the …