scholarly journals Understanding the Evolutionary Ecology of host–pathogen Interactions Provides Insights into the Outcomes of Insect Pest Biocontrol

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
David J. Páez ◽  
Arietta E. Fleming-Davies
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Life History ◽  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Single Strain ◽  
Classical Biocontrol ◽  
Life History Tradeoffs ◽  
Pathogen Strains

The use of viral pathogens to control the population size of pest insects has produced both successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Here, we investigate whether those biocontrol successes and failures can be explained by key ecological and evolutionary processes between hosts and pathogens. Specifically, we examine how heterogeneity in pathogen transmission, ecological and evolutionary tradeoffs, and pathogen diversity affect insect population density and thus successful control. We first review the existing literature and then use numerical simulations of mathematical models to further explore these processes. Our results show that the control of insect densities using viruses depends strongly on the heterogeneity of virus transmission among insects. Overall, increased heterogeneity of transmission reduces the effect of viruses on insect densities and increases the long-term stability of insect populations. Lower equilibrium insect densities occur when transmission is heritable and when there is a tradeoff between mean transmission and insect fecundity compared to when the heterogeneity of transmission arises from non-genetic sources. Thus, the heterogeneity of transmission is a key parameter that regulates the long-term population dynamics of insects and their pathogens. We also show that both heterogeneity of transmission and life-history tradeoffs modulate characteristics of population dynamics such as the frequency and intensity of “boom–bust" population cycles. Furthermore, we show that because of life-history tradeoffs affecting the transmission rate, the use of multiple pathogen strains is more effective than the use of a single strain to control insect densities only when the pathogen strains differ considerably in their transmission characteristics. By quantifying the effects of ecology and evolution on population densities, we are able to offer recommendations to assess the long-term effects of classical biocontrol.

Phenology, Population Dynamics, and Flowering Dynamics of Case's Ladies'-tresses, Spiranthes casei var. casei (Orchidaceae), in Ottawa, Ontario

2009 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce M. Reddoch ◽  
Allan H. Reddoch
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Life History ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Deer Herbivory ◽  
Cloudy Weather

We describe a seven-year study (2002–2008) of a population of Case’s Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes casei var. casei) in the western Greenbelt in Ottawa, Ontario, that had been extant since at least 1972. We also record a temporary colonization in the eastern Greenbelt for 11 years (1998–2008). The seven life history stages identified were seed, juvenile, immature, flowering, vegetative, offshoot (ramet), and non-emergent. Mature plants present in the first two years of the study had mean half lives of 9.4 years. Flowering and seed production were limited by damp, cloudy weather when fall rosettes develop, by gastropod herbivory in early summer, by drought in mid-summer, and by deer herbivory in late summer. Given the resulting wide fluctuations in the fractions of plants flowering, as well as the lack of visibility of vegetative plants, this study demonstrates the limitations of annual censuses of flowering stems for determining the actual sizes of populations and for detecting long-term population trends.

scholarly journals An Improved COVID-19 Forecasting by Infectious Disease Modelling Using Machine Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11426
Author(s):  
Hafiz Farooq Ahmad ◽  
Huda Khaloofi ◽  
Zahra Azhar ◽  
Abdulelah Algosaibi ◽  
Jamil Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Forecasting Accuracy ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
And Behavior

The mechanisms of data analytics and machine learning can allow for a profound conceptualization of viruses (such as pathogen transmission rate and behavior). Consequently, such models have been widely employed to provide rapid and accurate viral spread forecasts to public health officials. Nevertheless, the capability of these algorithms to predict outbreaks is not capable of long-term predictions. Thus, the development of superior models is crucial to strengthen disease prevention strategies and long-term COVID-19 forecasting accuracy. This paper provides a comparative analysis of COVID-19 forecasting models, including the Deep Learning (DL) approach and its examination of the circulation and transmission of COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE.

Long-term population dynamics of the red deer and European roe deer at the protected and not-protected areas in Mountain Crimea

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
V. N. Shmagol' ◽  
V. L. Yarysh ◽  
S. P. Ivanov ◽  
V. I. Maltsev
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Roe Deer ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Population Number ◽  
The Impact

<p>The long-term population dynamics of the red deer (<em>Cervus elaphus</em> L.) and European roe deer (<em>Capreolus</em> <em>capreolus</em> L.) at the mountain and forest zone of Crimea during 1980-2017 is presented. Fluctuations in numbers of both species are cyclical and partly synchronous. Period of oscillations in the population of red deer is about 25 years, the average duration of the oscillation period of number of roe deer is 12.3 years. During the fluctuations in the number the increasing and fall in population number of the red deer had been as 26-47 %, and roe deer – as 22-34 %. Basing on the dada obtained we have assumed that together with large-scale cycles of fluctuations in population number of both red deer and roe deer the short cycles of fluctuations in the number of these species with period from 3.5 to 7.5 years take place. Significant differences of the parameters of cyclical fluctuations in the number of roe deer at some sites of the Mountainous Crimea: breaches of synchronicity, as well as significant differences in the duration of cycles are revealed. The greatest deviations from the average values of parameters of long-term dynamics of the number of roe deer in Crimea are noted for groups of this species at two protected areas. At the Crimean Nature Reserve the cycle time of fluctuations of the numbers of roe deer was 18 years. At the Karadag Nature Reserve since 1976 we can see an exponential growth in number of roe deer that is continued up to the present time. By 2016 the number of roe deer reached 750 individuals at a density of 437 animals per 1 thousand ha. Peculiarity of dynamics of number of roe deer at some sites proves the existence in the mountain forest of Crimea several relatively isolated groups of deer. We assumed that "island" location of the Crimean populations of red deer and European roe deer, their relatively little number and influence of permanent extreme factors of both natural and anthropogenic origination have contributed to a mechanism of survival of these populations. The elements of such a mechanism include the following features of long-term dynamics of the population: the reduction in the period of cyclic population fluctuations, while maintaining their amplitude and the appearance of additional small cycles, providing more flexible response of the population to the impact of both negative and positive environmental factors. From the totality of the weather conditions for the Crimean population of roe deer the recurring periods of increases and downs in the annual precipitation amount may have relevance. There was a trend of increase in the roe deer population during periods of increasing annual precipitation.</p>

scholarly journals High-efficiency CO2 separation using hybrid LDH-polymer membranes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaozhi Xu ◽  
Jiajie Wang ◽  
Awu Zhou ◽  
Siyuan Dong ◽  
Kaiqiang Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Spray Coating ◽  
Separation Performance ◽  
Pdms Layer ◽  
Operational Testing ◽  
Enhanced Solubility ◽  
Double Hydroxide

AbstractMembrane-based gas separation exhibits many advantages over other conventional techniques; however, the construction of membranes with simultaneous high selectivity and permeability remains a major challenge. Herein, (LDH/FAS)n-PDMS hybrid membranes, containing two-dimensional sub-nanometre channels were fabricated via self-assembly of unilamellar layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets and formamidine sulfinic acid (FAS), followed by spray-coating with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) layer. A CO2 transmission rate for (LDH/FAS)25-PDMS of 7748 GPU together with CO2 selectivity factors (SF) for SF(CO2/H2), SF(CO2/N2) and SF(CO2/CH4) mixtures as high as 43, 86 and 62 respectively are observed. The CO2 permselectivity outperforms most reported systems and is higher than the Robeson or Freeman upper bound limits. These (LDH/FAS)n-PDMS membranes are both thermally and mechanically robust maintaining their highly selective CO2 separation performance during long-term operational testing. We believe this highly-efficient CO2 separation performance is based on the synergy of enhanced solubility, diffusivity and chemical affinity for CO2 in the sub-nanometre channels.

scholarly journals Contributions to Management Strategies in the NE Atlantic Regarding the Life History and Population Structure of a Key Deep-Sea Fish (Mora moro)

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 522
Author(s):  
Régis Santos ◽  
Wendell Medeiros-Leal ◽  
Osman Crespo ◽  
Ana Novoa-Pabon ◽  
Mário Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Life History ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Size Composition ◽  
Large Size ◽  
The Common ◽  
Fishing Impacts ◽  
Sea Fish

With the commercial fishery expansion to deeper waters, some vulnerable deep-sea species have been increasingly captured. To reduce the fishing impacts on these species, exploitation and management must be based on detailed and precise information about their biology. The common mora Mora moro has become the main deep-sea species caught by longliners in the Northeast Atlantic at depths between 600 and 1200 m. In the Azores, landings have more than doubled from the early 2000s to recent years. Despite its growing importance, its life history and population structure are poorly understood, and the current stock status has not been assessed. To better determine its distribution, biology, and long-term changes in abundance and size composition, this study analyzed a fishery-dependent and survey time series from the Azores. M. moro was found on mud and rock bottoms at depths below 300 m. A larger–deeper trend was observed, and females were larger and more abundant than males. The reproductive season took place from August to February. Abundance indices and mean sizes in the catch were marked by changes in fishing fleet operational behavior. M. moro is considered vulnerable to overfishing because it exhibits a long life span, a large size, slow growth, and a low natural mortality.

scholarly journals Implications of diet on mosquito life history traits and pathogen transmission

2021 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 110893
Author(s):  
Laura Carvajal-Lago ◽  
María José Ruiz-López ◽  
Jordi Figuerola ◽  
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Pathogen Transmission
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