Finite-Difference Equations

Abstract

Imagine that a graduate student goes to a meadow on the first day of May, walks through the meadow waving a fly net, and counts the number of flies caught in the net. She repeats this ritual for several years, following up on the work of previous graduate students. The resulting measurements might look like the graph shown in Figure 1.1. The graduate student notes the variability in her measurements and wants to find out if they contain any important biological information.