Windows to Complexity 2015 II

Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology

Organizers: Arndt Telschow, Oliver Kamps 

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Scientific Scope

There is growing empirical evidence that most bio-medical processes follow nonlinear dynamics. However, data analysis of nonlinear systems is fundamentally different from “standard statistics”. This is because each state of a nonlinear system depends on previous states in a nonlinear way. Statistical physics and mathematics provide powerful methods to analyze “dynamical” time series data, but most of these techniques are of limited applicability in life sciences because they require rather long time series. Recently, new methods were developed for the analysis of short (ecological) time series, including tests for (i) causality between biotic or abiotic variables and (ii) early warning signals for regime shifts (Sugihara et al. 2012, Science; Scheffer et al. 2009, Nature). The workshop aims at bridging the gap of knowledge between theoreticians working on nonlinear dynamics and empirical researchers working on eco-evolutionary questions or in medicine. We will discuss how the dynamical thinking can lead to new research questions in life sciences by focusing on specific empirical systems including Anopheles mosquitoes and the human microbiome, and problematize the issue of appropriate data collection, which is critical to make full usage of nonlinear time series analysis (e.g., for testing causal interactions).

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List of invited speakers

The Workshop is organized in cooperation with the Münster Graduate School of Evolution