A Study of Pollen Dispersal Models

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2005

Disciplines

Biology | Life Sciences | Mathematics | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Advisor

Kris Nairn, Mathematics; Gordon Brown, Biology

Abstract

When monks first arrived in Collegeville, in the 1860's, they recorded pine wood as one of the building materials. The actual pine curtain stops 40 miles north of Collegeville at Little Falls, MN. The question has been asked if the pine trees from Little Falls could account for the pollen deposition at Lake Hilary or if the trees from Little Falls could have a significant genetic impact on the pine population at Collegeville. To determine this, pollen dispersal models were studied and created. They were compared with each other and actual biological data. A total of 5 models were created based on dispersal functions coming from population equations and differential heat equations. A major problem is taking into account the wind, which seems to have a negative exponential relationship with the dispersal constant.

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