Theorie Kolloquium | December 01, 16:30

Statistical Physics and Anomalous Dynamics of Foraging

Rainer Klages

A question that attracted a lot of attention in the past two decades is whether biologically relevant search strategies can be identified by statistical data analysis and mathematical modeling. A famous paradigm in this field is the Levy Flight Foraging Hypothesis. It states that under certain mathematical conditions Levy dynamics, which defines a key concept in the theory of anomalous stochastic processes, leads to an optimal search strategy for foraging organisms. This hypothesis is discussed very controversially in the current literature. I will review examples and counterexamples of experimental data and their analyses confirming and refuting it. Related to this debate is own work about biophysical modeling of bumblebee flights under predation thread and biological cell migration, both based on experimental data analysis, which I briefly outline.


Queen Mary University London
TP seminar room 0.03
Contact: Joachim Krug