Mealybugs are a major pest for many crops （such as the vegetable Cassava, in Thailand）. An environmentally-friendly bio-control method is implemented using an introduced predator （green lacewings） of the mealybugs...Mealybugs are a major pest for many crops （such as the vegetable Cassava, in Thailand）. An environmentally-friendly bio-control method is implemented using an introduced predator （green lacewings） of the mealybugs to mitigate plant damage. This is analyzed so as to devise and determine an optimal strategy for control of the mealybug population. A predator-prey model has been proposed and analyzed to study the effect of the biological control of the spread of the mealybugs in the plant field. The behaviour of the system in terms of stability, phase space and bifurcation diagrams are considered. The results obtained from different numbers of predators being released are compared. In particular we obtain thresholds of introduced-predator level above which the prey is driven to extinction. Future models will include age-structured multi-compartments for both the prey and predator populations.展开更多
In this paper, an economic model was constructed to determine the optimal wolf population and distribution across the Northern Rocky Mountains. Both ecological and economic concepts were incorporated in an implicitly ...In this paper, an economic model was constructed to determine the optimal wolf population and distribution across the Northern Rocky Mountains. Both ecological and economic concepts were incorporated in an implicitly spatial social welfare maximization problem. This interdisciplinary model relies on multiple data sources, including current wolf population and distribution information, opportunity cost to local landowners, and contingent valuation studies to determine willingness-to-pay for wolves. Economic models tend to externalize ecological concerns and ecological models often omit the complex human dimensions of conservation policy. Accordingly, this model can serve as a guide for integrating best practices from both fields. The model presented here is sufficiently general to apply to wolves in other ecosystems and to other highly interacting species such as beavers and bison. The Northern Rocky Mountain wolf was used as an example of how this economic model works, but this model can be applied far more broadly.展开更多
Phenotypic plasticity is often an adaptation of organisms to cope with temporally or spatially heter- ogenous landscapes. Like other adaptations, one would predict that different species, populations, or sexes might t...Phenotypic plasticity is often an adaptation of organisms to cope with temporally or spatially heter- ogenous landscapes. Like other adaptations, one would predict that different species, populations, or sexes might thus show some degree of parallel evolution of plasticity, in the form of parallel reaction norms, when exposed to analogous environmental gradients. Indeed, one might even ex- pect parallelism of plasticity to repeatedly evolve in multiple traits responding to the same gradi- ent, resulting in integrated parallelism of plasticity. In this study, we experimentally tested for paral- lel patterns of predator-mediated plasticity of size, shape, and behavior of 2 species and sexes of mosquitofish. Examination of behavioral trials indicated that the 2 species showed unique patterns of behavioral plasticity, whereas the 2 sexes in each species showed parallel responses. Fish shape showed parallel patterns of plasticity for both sexes and species, albeit males showed evidence of unique plasticity related to reproductive anatomy. Moreover, patterns of shape plasticity due to predator exposure were broadly parallel to what has been depicted for predator-mediated popula- tion divergence in other studies （slender bodies, expanded caudal regions, ventrally located eyes, and reduced male gonopodia）. We did not find evidence of phenotypic plasticity in fish size for ei- ther species or sex. Hence, our findings support broadly integrated parallelism of plasticity for sexes within species and less integrated parallelism for species. We interpret these findings with respect to their potential broader implications for the interacting roles of adaptation and constraint in the evolutionary origins of parallelism of plasticity in general.展开更多
Among-population differences in morphology and behaviors such as boldness have been shown to co-vary with eco- logical conditions, including predation regime. However, between- and within-population covariation of pre...Among-population differences in morphology and behaviors such as boldness have been shown to co-vary with eco- logical conditions, including predation regime. However, between- and within-population covariation of predator defense mor- phology with variation in behaviors relevant to ecology and evolution （boldness, exploration, activity, sociability and aggressive- ness, often defined as personality traits when they are consistent across time and contexts） have never been quantified together in a single study in juvenile fish from populations found in contrasting environments. We measured predator defense morphology differences between adults from two freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks with different ecological conditions. We then quantified five behaviors in juveniles from both populations raised in a common environment. Wild-caught adults showed significant differences in predator defense morphology. One population had significantly lower lateral plate number, shorter dorsal spine, pelvic spine and pelvic girdle. Furthermore, 61% of individuals from that population showed an absence of pelvic spine and girdle. At the population level, we found that differences in defense morphology in adults between the two lakes were coupled with differences in behaviors in juveniles raised in a common environment. Levels of activity, aggressiveness and boldness were higher in juveniles from the population lacking predator defense structures. At the individual level, anti-predator morphology of adult females could not predict their offspring＇s behavior, but juvenile coloration predicted individual boldness in a popula- tion-specific manner. Our results suggest that ecological conditions, as reflected in adult predator defense morphology, also affect juvenile behavior in threespine sticklebacks, resulting in trait co-specialization, and that there is a genetic or epigenetic compo- nent to these behavioral differences [Current Zoology 58 （1）： 53-65, 2012].展开更多
Animals grouping together is one of the most interesting phenomena in population dynamics and different functional responses as a result of prey-predator forming groups have been considered by many authors in their mo...Animals grouping together is one of the most interesting phenomena in population dynamics and different functional responses as a result of prey-predator forming groups have been considered by many authors in their models. In the present paper we have considered a model for one prey and two competing predator populations with time lag and square root functional response on account of herd formation by prey. It is shown that due to the inclusion of another competing predator, the underlying system without delay becomes more stable and limit cycles do not occur naturally. However, after considering the effect of time lag in the basic system, limit cycles appear in the case of all equilibrium points when delay time crosses some critical value. From the numerical simulation, it is observed that the length of delay is minimum when only prey population survives and it is maximum when all the populations coexist.展开更多
文摘Mealybugs are a major pest for many crops （such as the vegetable Cassava, in Thailand）. An environmentally-friendly bio-control method is implemented using an introduced predator （green lacewings） of the mealybugs to mitigate plant damage. This is analyzed so as to devise and determine an optimal strategy for control of the mealybug population. A predator-prey model has been proposed and analyzed to study the effect of the biological control of the spread of the mealybugs in the plant field. The behaviour of the system in terms of stability, phase space and bifurcation diagrams are considered. The results obtained from different numbers of predators being released are compared. In particular we obtain thresholds of introduced-predator level above which the prey is driven to extinction. Future models will include age-structured multi-compartments for both the prey and predator populations.
文摘In this paper, an economic model was constructed to determine the optimal wolf population and distribution across the Northern Rocky Mountains. Both ecological and economic concepts were incorporated in an implicitly spatial social welfare maximization problem. This interdisciplinary model relies on multiple data sources, including current wolf population and distribution information, opportunity cost to local landowners, and contingent valuation studies to determine willingness-to-pay for wolves. Economic models tend to externalize ecological concerns and ecological models often omit the complex human dimensions of conservation policy. Accordingly, this model can serve as a guide for integrating best practices from both fields. The model presented here is sufficiently general to apply to wolves in other ecosystems and to other highly interacting species such as beavers and bison. The Northern Rocky Mountain wolf was used as an example of how this economic model works, but this model can be applied far more broadly.
文摘Phenotypic plasticity is often an adaptation of organisms to cope with temporally or spatially heter- ogenous landscapes. Like other adaptations, one would predict that different species, populations, or sexes might thus show some degree of parallel evolution of plasticity, in the form of parallel reaction norms, when exposed to analogous environmental gradients. Indeed, one might even ex- pect parallelism of plasticity to repeatedly evolve in multiple traits responding to the same gradi- ent, resulting in integrated parallelism of plasticity. In this study, we experimentally tested for paral- lel patterns of predator-mediated plasticity of size, shape, and behavior of 2 species and sexes of mosquitofish. Examination of behavioral trials indicated that the 2 species showed unique patterns of behavioral plasticity, whereas the 2 sexes in each species showed parallel responses. Fish shape showed parallel patterns of plasticity for both sexes and species, albeit males showed evidence of unique plasticity related to reproductive anatomy. Moreover, patterns of shape plasticity due to predator exposure were broadly parallel to what has been depicted for predator-mediated popula- tion divergence in other studies （slender bodies, expanded caudal regions, ventrally located eyes, and reduced male gonopodia）. We did not find evidence of phenotypic plasticity in fish size for ei- ther species or sex. Hence, our findings support broadly integrated parallelism of plasticity for sexes within species and less integrated parallelism for species. We interpret these findings with respect to their potential broader implications for the interacting roles of adaptation and constraint in the evolutionary origins of parallelism of plasticity in general.
文摘Among-population differences in morphology and behaviors such as boldness have been shown to co-vary with eco- logical conditions, including predation regime. However, between- and within-population covariation of predator defense mor- phology with variation in behaviors relevant to ecology and evolution （boldness, exploration, activity, sociability and aggressive- ness, often defined as personality traits when they are consistent across time and contexts） have never been quantified together in a single study in juvenile fish from populations found in contrasting environments. We measured predator defense morphology differences between adults from two freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks with different ecological conditions. We then quantified five behaviors in juveniles from both populations raised in a common environment. Wild-caught adults showed significant differences in predator defense morphology. One population had significantly lower lateral plate number, shorter dorsal spine, pelvic spine and pelvic girdle. Furthermore, 61% of individuals from that population showed an absence of pelvic spine and girdle. At the population level, we found that differences in defense morphology in adults between the two lakes were coupled with differences in behaviors in juveniles raised in a common environment. Levels of activity, aggressiveness and boldness were higher in juveniles from the population lacking predator defense structures. At the individual level, anti-predator morphology of adult females could not predict their offspring＇s behavior, but juvenile coloration predicted individual boldness in a popula- tion-specific manner. Our results suggest that ecological conditions, as reflected in adult predator defense morphology, also affect juvenile behavior in threespine sticklebacks, resulting in trait co-specialization, and that there is a genetic or epigenetic compo- nent to these behavioral differences [Current Zoology 58 （1）： 53-65, 2012].
文摘Animals grouping together is one of the most interesting phenomena in population dynamics and different functional responses as a result of prey-predator forming groups have been considered by many authors in their models. In the present paper we have considered a model for one prey and two competing predator populations with time lag and square root functional response on account of herd formation by prey. It is shown that due to the inclusion of another competing predator, the underlying system without delay becomes more stable and limit cycles do not occur naturally. However, after considering the effect of time lag in the basic system, limit cycles appear in the case of all equilibrium points when delay time crosses some critical value. From the numerical simulation, it is observed that the length of delay is minimum when only prey population survives and it is maximum when all the populations coexist.
