Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 26, 2026
03:57
Transverse Fracture of the Mouse Femur with Stabilizing Pin
Published on: December 29, 2021
4.1K
Pinned, locked, pushed, and pulled traveling waves in structured environments
Ching-Hao Wang1, Sakib Matin1, Ashish B George1
1Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, United States.
Theoretical Population Biology
|April 15, 2019
Summary
Traveling fronts in structured environments can lock invasion velocities to specific values, becoming discontinuous pulses. This phenomenon, controlled by density-dependence, is robust to fluctuations.
Area of Science:
- Physics and Biology
- Complex Systems Dynamics
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Traveling fronts model transitions between states in physical and biological systems, like mutation spread or species invasion.
- In homogeneous environments, fronts are smooth and move at constant velocity.
- Structured environments (e.g., tissues, patchy landscapes) can alter front dynamics, causing pinning or velocity locking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the transition from continuous to locked invasions in structured environments.
- To identify the factors controlling velocity locking.
- To assess the robustness of velocity locking to environmental and demographic stochasticity.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of traveling fronts.
- Analysis of front dynamics in spatially and temporally periodic environments.
- Investigation of density-dependence in dispersal and growth.
- Examination of stochastic effects on invasion dynamics.
Main Results:
- Habitat fragmentation can lead to invasion velocities locked to environmental periodicity, resulting in discontinuous, pulsing fronts.
- The transition to velocity locking is governed by positive density-dependence in dispersal or growth.
- Velocity locking demonstrates robustness against demographic and environmental fluctuations.
Conclusions:
- Structured environments fundamentally alter traveling front dynamics, leading to novel behaviors like velocity locking.
- Density-dependence is a critical factor in synchronizing invasions with environmental structure.
- Locked invasion velocities offer a stable propagation mode resilient to environmental noise.
Related Concept Videos
01:04Travelling Waves
6.9K
A wave is a disturbance that propagates from its source, repeating itself periodically, and is typically associated with simple harmonic motion. Mechanical waves are governed by Newton's laws and require a medium to travel. A medium is a substance in which a mechanical wave propagates, and the medium produces an elastic restoring force when it is deformed.
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is...
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is...
6.9K
01:27Traveling Waves: Lossless Lines
471
The provided content explores the behavior of traveling waves on single-phase lossless transmission lines. It begins with a single-phase two-wire lossless transmission line of length Δx, characterized by a loop inductance LH/m and a line-to-line capacitance C F/m. These parameters result in a series inductance LΔx and a shunt capacitance CΔx.
471
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
61.1K
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
61.1K
01:21Euler's Formula for Pin-Ended Columns
700
In structural engineering, the stability of columns under compressive axial loads is a critical consideration, described as buckling. A typical example involves a column PQ, which is pin-connected at both ends and subjected to a centric axial load F applied at one end, with a reaction force of F' = -F at the other end. Here, it is crucial to understand that when an applied load exceeds the critical load, buckling occurs as the system becomes unstable.
To calculate the critical load, envision...
To calculate the critical load, envision...
700
01:16Self-Locking Screw
2.5K
A square-threaded screw jack is a mechanical device widely used for lifting heavy loads or applying considerable force. One of the key features that can make a screw jack more effective and reliable is its self-locking capability.
A square-threaded screw jack carrying a load is considered self-locking if the screw retains its position even after the moment applied to it is removed.
A square-threaded screw jack carrying a load is considered self-locking if the screw retains its position even after the moment applied to it is removed.
2.5K
01:27Drive-Reduction Theory: Push Theory of Motivation
1.2K
Clark Hull's drive-reduction theory, introduced in the 1940s and 1950s and often termed the "push theory" of motivation, provides a framework for understanding how biological and learned drives influence behavior. Hull suggested that motivation originates from the need to alleviate physiological tension caused by unmet biological necessities. The theory proposes that when a basic need, such as hunger or sleep, goes unfulfilled, it creates an internal imbalance. This imbalance, or...
1.2K