Sustainability in a differential equations course: a case study of Easter Island

Abstract

Easter Island is a fascinating example of resource depletion and population collapse, and its relatively short period of human habitation combined with its isolation lends itself well to investigation by students in a first-semester ordinary differential equations course. This article describes curricular materials for a semester-long case study into environmental and sustainability issues in the history of Easter Island. Using results that appeared in recent journal articles, students investigate the date of arrival of early settlers, the impact they had on natural resources through population growth as well as through the introduction of non-native species, and the effect of European diseases on the population.

Keywords:

• differential equations
• sustainability
• Easter Island
• population growth
• environmental collapse

Acknowledgements

This work was funded through Dickinson College's Sustainability Education Fund, which is supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.