Modeling Sign-feasibility in Random Ecosystems

May 2021 - August 2021

In community ecology, it is often easier to define the signs of interaction than measuring their strength, thus producing a “signed” interaction matrix of (+)/(-)/0. In this project, I sought to use theorems of signed matrices from linear algebra to identify when a given ecosystem is feasible and stable. I developed criteria based on existing theorems for how to computationally identify a feasible signed matrix, and identified some preliminary signals in 2-species and 3-species systems. I hope to pick up this project again some day though :)