As a mathematician, Dr. Holden reduces environmental problems to their most essential components and uses the power of mathematics to reveal fundamental principles of effective management. The maths helps explain why some strategies work better than others, allowing us to learn and adapt to new challenges.
For example, in organic agriculture, Dr Holden’s models of insect movement revealed why one of the most promising organic pest management methods often fails in practice. Many entomologists were convinced that using attractive plants to lure pests off crops would revolutionize wildlife-friendly farming, eliminating the need for pesticides. It worked in small greenhouse experiments but failed on commercial scales. Dr Holden showed the literature’s obsession with identifying attractive plants while ignoring the ability of plants to retain insects could explain the failure. Pests were using these attractive plants as steppingstones. The work identified avenues for improvement, focusing on preventing pests from stepping back
into the field off of these attractive plants.
Mathematical tools unify Dr. Holden’s research, allowing him to resolve disagreements and identify solutions to a variety of problems in environmental management, from pest and invasive species management to fisheries and biodiversity conservation.