Mathematical ecology lets you use mathematics to help protect biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment. This page is designed to help you choose the degree pathway and UQ courses that best prepare you for environmental modelling, conservation decision-making and ecological applications. 

A key course for this area

MATH3070 – Natural Resource Mathematics

This is the main ecological modelling course at UQ.
You learn how to build models of real ecosystems, analyse their behaviour, fit them to data, and use maths to make decisions for conservation and environmental management.

When should you take it?
Semester 2 of Year 2 is ideal for motivated students, since the Year 2 pre-requisites are offered in Semester 1 (i.e. you will have done probability + differential equations). Taking it early will also help you get acquainted with the field and refine your interests. But you can also take it later in Year 3 if that fits your plan better.

Which majors work best for mathematical ecology?

• BMath – Applied Mathematics or BSc – Applied Mathematics (most flexible options)

• BMath – Operations Research (also a good option and like Applied Maths allows MATH3070 to count towards the major)

Note that there is ongoing discussion about allowing MATH3070 to count towards the BMath – Statistics & Mathematical Data Science program; if/when that is implemented, it may also be a good option for students primarily interested in mathematical and statistical modeling in ecology. The BMath – Mathematical Artificial Intelligence major can also work for those interested in mathematical ecology, but is less flexible (at the moment, so you’ll need to choose electives carefully, and even though MATH3070 doesn't count towards the subject requirements, you should take it).

Good Level 3 Courses (when you get there later)

• MATH3070 Natural Resource Mathematics (core for this pathway, be sure to take!)
  
  

• MATH3101 ODEs & Dynamical Systems
  
  

• MATH3202 Operations Research & Planning
  
  

• MATH3205 Further Topics in Operations Research
  
  

• STAT3004 Probability Models and Stochastic Processes
  
  

• STAT3001 Mathematical Statistics
  
  

• MATH3204 Numerical Linear Algebra & Optimisation
  
  

• MATH3201 Scientific Computing
  
  

• MATH3403 Partial Differential Equations
  
  

Other interesting courses to consider

Mathematical Biology (MATH3104) focuses on the field of biology more broadly, with applications in physiology, epidemiology, neuroscience, genetics, and cellular-to-organism scale modelling. It is a broad and exciting course that provides a strong foundation in mathematical biology. If you are interested in a broad background across biological systems, I recommend taking both MATH3070 and Mathematical Biology. If your main interest is environmental and ecological decision-making, you may wish to prioritise MATH3070 together with the modelling and optimisation courses listed above.

Optimisation Theory (MATH3404) is a classical calculus-of-variations/optimal-control course. These ideas are valuable. There are several classic applications of these methods in ecology. However, most modern ecological applications tend to use approaches taught in MATH3202, MATH3204, and MATH3205. Optimisation Theory is still a great and fun course if you have extra room in your program. If you want to explore these methods but do not want to devote a whole course to them, the topics can also be explored further through texts such as  Suzanne Lenhart's book.

How to choose your pathway (based on what interests you most)

• If you want to figure out the best environmental decisions, take the Operations Research course(s).

• If you like understanding how populations and ecosystems change through time, take ODEs & Dynamical Systems, PDEs.

• If you are interested in risk, randomness, and uncertainty, take Probability Models & Stochastic Processes, Mathematical Statistics.

• If you care about animal movement, dispersal, space, and habitat, take PDEs, Scientific Computing, Probability Models & Stochastic Processes.