300489 VO Growth and Proportion (2009W)

The diverse relations between growth and proportion from a biometrical , systems-analytical point of view should be represented by the lecture, it is mainly intended for advanced students.
Besides basic criteria for defining 'biological systems' (e.g., stystem -element, distinctness, connectivity, input, output, composition, decomposition, steady state), elementary terms of growth modeling (e.g., growth rates, growth filters, carrying capacity) will be introduced. From growth models, the exponential, logistic, Bertalanffy, Gompertz, and fractal growth (Verhulst dynamic) are thorougly discussed leading to the fundamentals of allometric research (e.g., size vs. shape, 'Gestalt', univariate vs. multivariate approaches in allometry, isometry, power laws). The theoretical representations will be illustrated by various examples from biology.