Big thank you to Ben Gillen for serving as the TA Mentor for the incoming PhD students!
Ben spent this past summer freezing in Alaska while applying Sobol’ indices to a ringed seal matrix population model to better understand the uncertainty apportionment. Matrix population models are valuable tools for assessing population dynamics, but there is limited research for how uncertainty in the model inputs propagates. Ben was able to support the claim that the most important factor for continued population success is adult survival rate. He hopes to apply these uncertainty apportionment techniques more broadly to matrix population models, with the goal of deepening theoretical insights into MPMs and expanding the scope and rigor of research in this area.
Congratulations on the exciting research developments, and thank you for your continued support of the department!
