SMS scnews item created by Gareth White at Tue 31 Mar 2009 1259
Type: Seminar
Distribution: World
Expiry: 1 Apr 2009
Calendar1: 1 Apr 2009 1300-1400
CalLoc1: Carslaw 452
Auth: garethw@asti.maths.usyd.edu.au

# SUMS Meeting: Sutherland -- Kinky Population Dynamics: Modelling Hermaphrodite Fish

Hello SUMS members,

Thanks to all those who turned up to SUMS soccer last week. Pure won, but of
course this game was only a warm-up for the big one at the end of the year.
So really it means nothing. In any case, this week we are returning to
talks, and for the first time this year it will be an applied talk. Duncan
Sutherland is a PhD student at Sydney Uni, and his talk, titled Kinky
Population Dynamics - Modelling sequential hermaphrodite fish, really needs
no explanation beyond the abstract (which he kindly provided us, thanks
Duncan):

"A sequential hermaphrodite fish, such as Wrasse or Clownfish, is born as
one sex and later under goes transition to the opposite sex. This is kinky.
This talk was originally presented as assessment for the applied maths
honours course ’Populations and Disease’. The assignment was to find three
papers with a common theme in the area of mathematical biology and present a
short talk about them.
A continuously structured population model, due to Calsina and Ripoll, will
be discussed. The model assumes a random age transition between the sexes.
The fecundity (birth) and mortality functions are arbitrary and only
restricted by obvious biological considerations.
A stage structured population model including the effects of fishing, by
Armsworth, will also be discussed. Time permitting, the talk will include
discussion of a third paper about optimal breeding stragies for sequential
hermaphrodites.
The speaker is also available for private parties."

Hope to see you there!

SUMS also has some other, more general announcements to make, which I will
list in point form to make it easier to read:
- The website has finally been updated enough for me to not be too ashamed
to give you the address: http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/PS/SUMS.html While I
still consider it a work in progress, and by no means complete, it is at
least up-to-date.
- SUMS T-shirts will hopefully be available by the mid-semester break
(perhaps a little bit after). There should be enough printed to meet demand.
The design will probably be the "Say Pi and die" design that you may have
seen other, older SUMS members wear. More details to come later.
- There will be a cake bake in week 7 (the first week back from mid-semester
break). This will likely be held on a day other than Wednesday, to cater for
SUMS members who can’t make it on Wednesdays. More details to come later.
- SUMS has been discussing with the Physics Society about a possible Maths
vs Physics debate later on in the semester. Any suggestions on possible
debate topics would be appreciated (think of interesting topics).

Some more details on these events may be provided on Wednesday. In any case,
you should come to Duncan’s talk, unless you feel like doing something not
nearly as awesome (you DO like awesome things, don’t you?)

Talk: Kinky Population Dynamics - Modelling sequential hermaphrodite fish
Speaker: Duncan Sutherland
Location: Carslaw 452
Date/Time: Wednesday April 1, 1-2pm

Until we meet again,
SUMS President

"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we
are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true." - Bertrand
Russell


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