Aggregation patterns of living organisms: connecting mathematical modeling to experimental data

• Grant number: 20/15643-8
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics
• Principal researcher: Ricardo Martinez Garcia
• Grantee: Daniel Cardoso Pereira Jorge
• Home Institution: Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/05523-8 - Toward a mechanistic theory for biological patterns and their ecosystem management possibilities, AP.JP

Abstract

Living beings very often interact with their conspecifics and form spatially heterogeneous spatial distributions. An example of such collective process is the formation of aggregates. In this project, the student will familiarize with different examples of aggregation processes in nature and learn the most commonly used techniques to model them. Finally, he will work on developing a video-processing based protocol to extract information about the interactions among individuals that drive aggregation in very large population sizes.The goal of this project is to implement a computational method to quantify the interaction forces that drive aggregation processes in large populations. To this end, the student will receive training in statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics in spatially-extended systems and Fourier analysis. (AU)