BIO 22N: Fibonacci's Rabbits and Darwin's Elephants: Integer Sequences for Evolutionary Biology

Course Description

In this introductory seminar, students will analyze integer sequences that, like the Fibonacci sequence, connect to problems in mathematical biology. Biological topics include population dynamics, population genetics, and the study of evolutionary trees. Mathematical analysis topics include combinatorial enumerations, recurrences, generating functions, and bijections. Through the investigation of biologically-linked integer sequences, students will develop an appreciation for the interface of mathematics and evolutionary biology.