Continuous systems
Educated at Pisa, Volterra held positions in Pisa, Turin and Rome. His work on quantities depending on functions and on integral equations expanded methods for studying continuous physical systems.
References: [1]
Interacting populations
His 1926 paper considered a simplified predator–prey system: prey could increase without predators, whereas predators declined without prey. Coupled differential equations yielded conditions for periodic fluctuations with different phases.
References: [2]
Observation and assumptions
He compared the model with Umberto D’Ancona’s Adriatic fishery statistics and examined how harvesting might alter predator and prey proportions. Its conclusions depended on specified growth and harvesting assumptions. Lotka subsequently identified related results in his earlier work.
Refusal of political allegiance
Volterra’s refusal to swear allegiance to the Fascist government in 1931 forced him out of the University of Rome. A further refusal in 1934 cost him membership in Italian academies, including the Accademia dei Lincei; he continued academic contacts abroad.
References: [1]