Models in Population Dynamics,
Ecology and Evolution

in honor of Herbert W. Hethcote and Horst Malchow

Torino, Italy - June 13-17, 2022

News and Calendar

Following the current local regulations for the COVID-19 pandemic, inside university buildings it is required to wear a face mask.

(13/06/2022) If you need a certificate of attendance to the conference, please write an email to isabella.cravero@unito.it.

(10/06/2022) The book of abstracts and the final version of the program are now available here.

(24/03/22) Presented works might be considered for possible post-conference publication in:

a Springer book of the SEMA-SIMAI series
Journal of Biological Systems
Mathematics (MDPI)

(22/03/22) Registration is now available here.

(20/03/22) Abstract/mini-symposium submission is now open: rules are available here.

The calendar has been updated as follow:
March 20: abstract/mini-symposium submission opens
April 30: early bird registration closes

Humankind, as well as life on Earth more generally are presently facing unprecedented challenges. Habitat fragmentation and biological invasions, exacerbated by the global climate change, result in elevated species extinction rates coupled with an accelerated loss of biodiversity and new threats posed by alien exotic species invasions of previously virgin territories, especially in the Earth temperate belts, with a huge impact on the entire system for food production. Indeed, human population growth brings the need of a more efficient and sustainable agriculture. The spread of insects from the tropical areas carrying viruses causing outbreaks of new or rare diseases poses another threat. Efficient, sustainable solutions to these problems can only be found though a rigorous scientific approach. There is an urgent need for ground-breaking ideas and better understanding in life sciences, ecology and environmental science. Direct communication and exchange of ideas between experts in relevant research fields is one way to facilitate it. An interdisciplinary forum where knowledge from these different fields can be exchanged would be a first step on the way of addressing these problems hovering over humanity. Precision agriculture requires tools that go beyond the purely biological/ecological settings and mathematical modelling, being widely recognized as a powerful research approach to problems arising in natural sciences, would provide such an instrument. MPDEE 2022 aims to contribute to this debate by bringing together leading researchers in theoretical and mathematical ecology, digital agriculture, evolutionary ecology, mathematical epidemiology and related fields.

The conference has a yearly history dating back to 2007, when it was then called MPDE (MDBE in 2009), and first held in Leicester, UK, and then merged with the biennial conference "Modelling Biological Evolution'' to bear the present name. In the years so far it has traveled to various worldwide locations, among which Osnabruck (Germany), Santa Maria (Brazil), Niteroi (Brazil), Cape Town (South Africa), Marseille (France). It was hosted in Torino in 2014, with a large participation of more than 100 delegates from all the continents.

It aims to bring together mathematicians interested in applications to population dynamics, ecology and evolution. This meeting will consider applications of mathematical modelling to explore processes and mechanisms in various biological systems at all the possible scales, ranging from molecular-biological mechanisms of the cell to ecological applications and even to the human society. Its special focus will be on the interplay between ecology and evolution across time and space. MPDEE22 is also expected to explore similarities between modelling and simulation techniques traditionally applied in ecology and evolution and those used in other hard- and life sciences. The ultimate purpose is to enhance interdisciplinary approaches and to stimulate further advances in population dynamics, ecology and evolution, as well as on the numerical tools to undertake the heavy simulations needed for this task. A special emphasis will indeed be devoted to the study of numerical methods in this setting. The meeting will be an open forum for interactions between theoreticians in the mathematical and physical sciences with empirical biologists and ecologists. Enhancing communication between the two groups to better link theories with empirical findings would represent its main goal.

The conference is planned to take place IN PERSON, although we may be able to accommodate online presentations as well.

The scope of the conference is outlined by (but not restricted to) the following topics: