A mini-series of lectures, given by members of the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, will be devoted to the "puzzle" of biodiversity. Here are some interesting journal articles related to the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH), see the lecture by Jan Freund:

• Connell, J.H. (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199: 1302-1310.
• Shea, K., Roxburgh, S.H., and Rauschert, E.S.J. (2004) Moving from pattern to process: coexistence mechanisms under intermediate disturbance regimes. Ecology Letters 7: 491-508.

The following article provides some useful background information on Stochastic Differential Equations:

• Mannella, R. (2000) A Gentle Introduction to the Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations. In: Stochastic Processes in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Edited by J.A. Freund, Th. Pöschel, Lecture Notes in Physics, vol. 557, pp.353-364. Springer, Berlin, 2000.