Diffusion and Ecological Problems: Modern Perspectives

The story of this edition is a testament to an almost legendary gure in theoretical ecology and to the in uence his work and charisma has had on the eld. It is also a story that can only be told by a trip back in time, to the genesis of the First Edition and before. Akira kubo and I were students together, but never knew it at the time. He was a graduate student at The ohns Hopkins niversity, where I was an undergraduate in mathematics. e both studied modern physics, taught by Dino Franco asetti, and we decided years later that we must have been in the same class. Akira was then a chemical oceanographer, but ship time and his stomach did not agree. Sohe turned to theory,and the rest is history. His impact has been phenomenal, and the First Edition of this book was his most in uential work. Building on his famous work with dye-di¤usion e periments, he turned his attention to organisms and created a unique melding of ideas from physics and biology.

From the reviews of the second edition:

"This book is the second edition of the popular and very influential book of A. Okubo … . The reader will find a great deal of biological interpretation and discussion … . A valuable asset of the book is the reference list that contains well over one thousand literature citations. S. Levin and his colleagues are to be commended and congratulated on this volume, which undoubtedly will continue well into the future to hold its legendary status in the field of diffusion processes in biology." (Jim M. Cushing, Zentralblatt Math, Vol. 1027, 2004)

"This is a revised and expanded version of Okubo’s classic 1980 text Diffusion and Ecological Problems: Mathematical Models. While building on the original text, the revision has brought the subject well into the 21st century … . The result is an excellent book on the role of diffusion theory in modern spatial ecology. … Okubo was an exceptional scientist … . His expertise and enthusiasm for the subject is reflected in this recent edition, and they are shared by his coauthor." (Mark Lewis, SIAM Review, Vol. 45 (1), 2003)

"This second edition is a substantially revised and updated version of Okuba’s classical monograph from 1980. … The structure is the same as before but every chapter has been thoroughly revised and modern developments have been included. … This book is a beautiful example of how interesting mathematics can arise from important biological problems and how this mathematics feeds back into their understanding." (R. Bürger, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 140 (2), 2003)

"At a range of more than 20 years, Okubo’s ‘Diffusion and Ecological Problems’ still stands like a mighty peak, by which a host of ecological modellers steer their research voyages. This considerably extended and updated Second Edition … is a timely and, more importantly, a worthy successor. … Overall, the great value of this Second Editionis its encyclopaedic coverage of those dynamic ecological phenomena in which diffusion plays a crucial role." (John Brindley, UK Nonlinear News, March, 2003)

"This is the posthumous second edition of Okubo’s Diffusion and Ecological Problems: Mathematical Models (1980) … . The text is both clear and mathematically rigorous. Even if equations are not to your taste, there is still much to enjoy, especially on animal movements and swarming. This is an essential work of reference for mathematical ecologists, idiosyncratic but a pleasure to read. Levin and his chapter editors are to be congratulated on a fine tribute to their friend." (Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, Vol. 34 (1), 2003)

"This book provides scientists … with a background in the mathematics and physics of diffusion, and how it can be applied to ecological problems. A wide variety of mathematical models of diffusion are surveyed in the ecological context. … I found this book very interesting to read … . For people working in the field, this book is probably very useful as a review book. For people working in other fields, I found this book to contain a very good introduction … ." (Peter Leoni, Physicalia, Vol. 28 (4-6), 2006)