Essential mathematical biology. (English) Zbl 1037.92001

Britton, Nicholas F.

Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series. London: Springer (ISBN 1-85233-536-X/pbk). xv, 335 p. (2003).

Each chapter of this textbook provides a brief introduction into an important area of mathematical biology. The chapters are 1. Single Species Population Dynamics, 2. Population Dynamics of Interacting Species, 3. Infectious Diseases, 4. Population Genetics and Evolution, 5. Biological Motion, 6. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 7. Pattern Formation, and 8. Tumor Modelling. In addition, there are four appendices, comprising about one fourth of the whole text, which summarize important techniques for analyzing difference, ordinary differential, and partial differential equations, as well as the Perron-Frobenius theorem. The book is aimed at the undergraduate level, and, appart from linear algebra and calculus, assumes basic knowledge of the theory of ordinary differential equations. Many exercises, together with hints for their solutions complement this text which will be useful as a first introduction.

Reviewer: Reinhard Bürger (Wien)

MSC:

92-01

Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to biology

Keywords:

population dynamics; evolution; pattern formation; epidemiology; differential equations; difference equations