Stephen A. Gourley

We present a detailed derivation and analysis of a model consisting of seven coupled delay differential equations for louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF), a disease transmitted from human to human by the body louse Pediculus humanus humanus. Delays model the latency stages of LBRF in humans and lice, which vary in duration from individual to individual, and are therefore modelled using distributed delays with relatively general kernels. A particular feature of the transmission of LBRF to a human is that it involves the death of the louse, usually by crushing which has the effect of releasing the infected body fluids of the dead louse onto the hosts skin. Careful attention is paid to this aspect. We obtain results on existence, positivity, boundedness, linear and nonlinear stability, and persistence. We also derive a basic reproduction number R₀ for the model and discuss its dependence on the model parameters. Our analysis of the model suggests that effective louse control without crushing should be the best strategy for LBRF eradication. We conclude that simple measures and precautions should, in general, be sufficient to facilitate disease eradication.

We derive a stage-structured model for an insect population in which a larva matures on reaching a certain size, and in which there is intra-specific competition among larvae that hinders their development, thereby prolonging the larval phase. The model, a system of delay differential equations for the total numbers of adults and larvae, assumes two forms. One of these is a system with a variable state-dependent time delay determined by a threshold condition, the other has constant and distributed delays, a size-like independent variable replacing time t, and no threshold condition. We prove theorems on boundedness and on the linear stability of equilibria.

This paper considers some novel predictions of a mathematical model for a stage-structured insect species that undergoes diapause if faced with strong intraspecific competition among larvae. The mo...

We propose a mathematical model for biocontrol of the invasive weed Fallopia japonica using one of its co-evolved natural enemies, the Japanese sap-sucking psyllid Aphalara itadori. This insect sucks the sap from the stems of the plant thereby weakening it. Its diet is highly specific to F. japonica. We consider a single isolated knotweed stand, the plant’s size being described by time-dependent variables for total stem and rhizome biomass. It is the larvae of A. itadori that damage the plant most, so the insect population is described in terms of variables for the numbers of larvae and adults, using a stage-structured modelling approach. The dynamics of the model depends mainly on a parameter h, which measures how long it takes for an insect to handle (digest) one unit of F. japonica stem biomass. If h is too large, then the model does not have a positive equilibrium and the plant biomass and insect numbers both grow together without bound, though at a lower rate than if the insects were absent. If h is sufficiently small, then the model possesses a positive equilibrium which appears to be locally stable. The results based on our model imply that satisfactory long-term control of the knotweed F. japonica using the insect A. itadori is only possible if the insect is able to consume and digest knotweed biomass sufficiently quickly; if it cannot, then the insect can only slow down the growth which is still unbounded.

An approach to modelling bird migration is proposed, in which there is a region where birds do not move but spend time breeding. Birds leave this breeding region and enter a migration flyway which is effectively a one-way corridor starting and ending at the breeding location. Mathematically, the flyway is a curve parametrised by arc-length. Flight speed depends on position along the flyway, to take account of factors such as wind and the pausing of birds at various locations for wintering or stopovers. Per-capita mortality along the flyway is both position and age-dependent, allowing for increased risks at stopover locations due to predation, and increased risks to immature birds. A reaction-advection age-structured equation models population dynamics along the flyway and, using a Laplace transform technique, the model is reduced to a scalar delay differential equation for the number of adult birds at the breeding location. Extinction and persistence criteria are obtained for the bird population and the results of computer simulations are presented.