Dynamics in a Beddington–DeAngelis prey–predator system with impulsive harvesting

THE EFFECTS OF INVASIVE EPIBIONTS ON CRAB–MUSSEL COMMUNITIES: A THEORETICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND MUSSEL POPULATION DECLINE

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are important keystone species that have been declining in the Gulf of Maine. This could be attributed to a variety of complex factors such as indirect effects due to invasion by epibionts, which remains unexplored mathematically. Based on classical optimal foraging theory (OFT) and anti-fouling defense mechanisms of mussels, we derive an ODE model for crab–mussel interactions in the presence of an invasive epibiont, Didemnum vexillum. The dynamical analysis leads to results on stability, global boundedness and bifurcations of the model. Next, via optimal control methods, we predict various ecological outcomes. Our results have key implications for preserving mussel populations in the advent of invasion by non-native epibionts. In particular, they help us understand the changing popluation dynamics of local predator–prey communities, due to indirect effects that epibionts confer.

Analysis of a delayed diffusive model with Beddington–DeAngelis functional response

In this paper, a delayed diffusive phytoplankton-zooplankton model with Beddington–DeAngelis functional response and toxins is investigated. Existence of equilibria of the system are solved. The global asymptotic stability of the zooplankton-free equilibrium is obtained. The local stability of the coexistent equilibrium and existence of Hopf bifurcation are discussed. In addition, the properties of the Hopf bifurcation are studied based on the center manifold and normal form theory for partial differential equations. Finally, some numerical simulations are also carried out to confirm our theoretical analysis.

Two models of interfering predators in impulsive biological control

In this paper, we study the effects of Beddington-DeAngelis interference and squabbling, respectively, on the minimal rate of predator release required to drive a pest population to zero. A two-dimensional system of coupled ordinary differential equations is considered, augmented by an impulsive component depicting the periodic release of predators into the system. This periodic release takes place independently of the detection of the pests in the field. We establish the existence of a pest-free solution driven by the periodic releases, and express the global stability conditions for this solution in terms of the minimal predator rate required to bring an outbreak of pests to nil. In particular, we show that with the interference effects, the minimal rate will only guarantee eradication if the releases are carried out frequently enough. When Beddington-DeAngelis behaviour is considered, an additional constraint for the existence itself of a successful release rate is that the pest growth rate should be less than the predation pressure, the latter explicitly formulated in terms of the predation function and the interference parameters.