Sustainable management of predatory fish affected by an Allee effect through marine protected areas and taxation.

Ecological balance and stable economic development are crucial for the fishery. This study proposes a predator-prey system for marine communities, where the growth of predators follows the Allee effect and takes into account the rapid fluctuations in resource prices caused by supply and demand. The system predicts the existence of catastrophic equilibrium, which may lead to the extinction of prey, consequently leading to the extinction of predators, but fishing efforts remain high. Marine protected areas are established near fishing areas to avoid such situations. Fish migrate rapidly between these two areas and are only harvested in the nonprotected areas. A three-dimensional simplified model is derived by applying variable aggregation to describe the variation of global variables on a slow time scale. To seek conditions to avoid species extinction and maintain sustainable fishing activities, the existence of positive equilibrium points and their local stability are explored based on the simplified model. Moreover, the long-term impact of establishing marine protected areas and levying taxes based on unit catch on fishery dynamics is studied, and the optimal tax policy is obtained by applying Pontryagin's maximum principle. The theoretical analysis and numerical examples of this study demonstrate the comprehensive effectiveness of increasing the proportion of marine protected areas and controlling taxes on the sustainable development of fishery.

[Science and development: the action of François Gros at COPED]. / Science et développement : l'action de François Gros au COPED.

This article is a tribute to the action of François Gros within the COPED (Committee of Developing Countries) which he created in 1997 and led until 2017. The COPED aims to reflect on the major scientific problems posed to developing countries and to try to provide them with solutions in partnership with them. Its actions have resulted in the organization of mini-forums, workshops, international symposia and reports for governments and authorities. Without being exhaustive, a number of actions carried out by François Gros or on his initiative are described in fields as diverse as health, chemistry, agronomy, energy, applied mathematics, renewable resources management and biodiversity, or education, training and the role of women in the sustainable development of African societies. The diversity of these concerns is a good illustration of the range of areas in which François Gros saw a possible impact of science in the service of development.

Cet article est un hommage à l'action de François Gros au sein du COPED (comité des Pays en voie de développement) qu'il a créé en 1997 et animé jusqu'en 2017. Le COPED a pour objectif de réfléchir aux problèmes scientifiques majeurs posés aux pays en développement et de tenter de leur apporter des solutions en partenariat avec eux. Ses actions se sont concrétisées par l'organisation de mini-forum de réflexion, d'ateliers, de colloques internationaux et de rapports à destination des gouvernants et des tutelles. Sans être exhaustif, nombre d'actions menées par François Gros, ou à son initiative, sont décrites dans des domaines aussi divers que la santé, la chimie, l'agronomie, l'énergie, les mathématiques appliquées, la gestion des ressources naturelles et de la biodiversité, ou encore l'éducation, la formation et le rôle des femmes dans le développement durable des sociétés africaines. La diversité de ces préoccupations illustre bien l'étendue des domaines dans lesquels François Gros voyait un impact possible de la science, au service du développement.

A model of a fishery with fish storage and variable price involving delay equations.

We propose a bio-economic model of a fishery describing the variations of the fish stock, the fishing effort and the price of the resource on the market supposed to depend on supply and demand. The originality of this model comes from taking into account the storage of part of the resource for a certain time before being put up for sale on the market. Taking into account the supposedly fast price dynamics compared to the other mechanisms involved and after integration of the stock equation, the system is reduced to a system of two delayed differential equations. The qualitative analysis of the model is carried out with the search for equilibrium points and the study of their stability. The study shows the existence of a catastrophic equilibrium corresponding to the extinction of the resource and one or two sustainable fishery equilibrium points that can coexist under certain conditions. The model shows that storing part of the resource makes it possible to avoid a catastrophic situation with the extinction of the fish stock and to stabilize the fishery in the long term. The study also shows that the price variation of the resource has a stabilizing effect by avoiding the appearance of periodic solutions associated with a stable limit cycle surrounding a sustainable fishery equilibrium point resulting from a Hopf bifurcation, which is contrary to the case without price variation where this is possible.

Successful artificial reefs depend on getting the context right due to complex socio-bio-economic interactions.

Artificial reefs (ARs) are one of the most popular means of supporting marine ecosystem conservation and coastal fisheries, particularly in developing countries. However, ARs generate complex socio-bio-economic interactions that require careful evaluation. This is particularly the case for ARs outside no-take zones, where fish might be subject to enhanced exploitation due to easier catchability. Here, we conducted an interdisciplinary study on how ARs impact fish and fishing yields, combining mathematical and sociological approaches. Both approaches converge to confirm that fishery yields decline when ARs are exploited as if they were open access areas. This situation typically occurs in areas with weak governance and/or high levels of illegal fishing activity, both of which are common in many developing countries. To avoid these adverse effects and their associated ecological consequences, we recommend prioritizing the onset of a long-term surveillance system against illegal fishing activities, and adapting design and location of the ARs based on both and local and academic knowledge, before the deployment of ARs.

On the Threshold of Release of Confinement in an Epidemic SEIR Model Taking into Account the Protective Effect of Mask.

We present a classic SEIR model taking into account the daily movements of individuals in different places. The model also takes into account partial confinement of individuals. This model is coupled with a model of protection against the epidemic by the use of masks. We are studying the effects of combined confinement and protection measures on the dynamics of the epidemic. We consider a constant proportion of asymptomatic people. We assume that symptomatic infected people may change their urban travel behavior due to the disease which causes them to travel less to places where they used to move and to stay at home more often. We present a sensitivity study with respect to the parameters. We show that the combination of the use of masks with almost complete release of confinement makes it possible to avoid the occurrence of a secondary peak of the epidemic. The model predicts that a total release of confinement can be successful for an epidemic of [Formula: see text] if on average a proportion of [Formula: see text] of the population wears masks of [Formula: see text] efficacy. However, if [Formula: see text] of the population remains confined, the same goal can be achieved with a proportion of [Formula: see text] of the population wearing masks with efficacy of the order of [Formula: see text].

Understanding how the collective behaviour of phytoflagellates is affected by light attenuation and diel vertical migration using individual-based modelling.

In this article, we investigate the question of the impact of the diel vertical migration (DVM) and the light attenuation by the cells on both spatial pattern and population dynamics of phytoflagellates. For these purposes, we performed a simulation study by using a spatially explicit individual-based model (IBM). The designed IBM includes 2 global mechanisms: cellular motion which is modelled through a stochastic differential equation and demographic process that is density and light intensity dependent. We showed that under no-DVM, for competitive environment, increasing the light absorption helps the creation of a strong oscillatory behaviour, that breeds aggregation-break up rhythm, which is beneficial. However, when we pass to DVM regime, it will be more advantageous for the cells to reduce their light absorption. In regards of DVM effect, we showed that it has other benefits, apart from the acquisition of resources, such as enhancing the attraction mechanism that promotes cooperation and also helping the creation of spatial voids that permit the penetration of the light. Also, we showed that the DVM reduces the predation rate, so we prove quantitatively that the DVM reduces, in general, the grazing losses. Also, we found that the DVM strategy depends on the impact of the competition and cooperation between the cells on the division and death rates. So, probably for the motile species, the local competition is not high in order to let the cells gain advantages from the DVM regarding their survivability that is explained by an annual cyclic behaviour under seasonal environment.

The 2016 red tide crisis in southern Chile: Possible influence of the mass oceanic dumping of dead salmons.

In 2016, a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) of Alexandrium catenella around Chiloé island caused one of the major socio-ecological crisis in Chilean history. This red tide occurred in two distinct pulses, the second, most anomalous, bursting with extreme toxicity on the Pacific coast, weeks after the highly controversial dumping off Chiloé of 4,700 t of rotting salmons, killed by a previous HAB of Pseudochattonella verruculosa. We study the transport of this pollution, analyzing the physical oceanographic conditions during and after the dumping. We find that a cyclonic gyre was present between the dumping site and the coast, visible in satellite altimetry and sea surface temperature data. Using Lagrangian simulations, we confirm that near-surface currents could have brought part of the pollution to the coast, and fueled the bloom. This scenario explains also the anomalous later finding of ammonium near Chiloé. Finally we discuss the mismanagement of risk throughout the events.

A 3D Individual-Based Model to Study Effects of Chemotaxis, Competition and Diffusion on the Motile-Phytoplankton Aggregation.

In this paper, we develop a 3D-individual-based model (IBM) to understand effect of various small-scale mechanisms in phytoplankton cells, on the cellular aggregation process. These mechanisms are: spatial interactions between cells due to their chemosensory abilities (chemotaxis), a molecular diffusion and a demographical process. The latter is considered as a branching process with a density-dependent death rate to take into account the local competition on resources. We implement the IBM and simulate various scenarios under real parameter values for phytoplankton cells. To quantify the effects of the different processes quoted above on the spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton, we used two spatial statistics: the Clark-Evans index and the group belonging percentage. Our simulation study highlights the role of the branching process with a weak-to-medium competition in reinforcing the aggregating structure that forms from attraction mechanisms (under suitable conditions for diffusion and attraction forces), and shows by contrast that aggregations cannot form when competition is high.

Competition or cooperation in transboundary fish stocks management: Insight from a dynamical model.

An idealized system of a shared fish stock associated with different exclusive economic zones (EEZ) is modelled. Parameters were estimated for the case of the small pelagic fisheries shared between Southern Morocco, Mauritania and the Senegambia. Two models of fishing effort distribution were explored. The first one considers independent national fisheries in each EEZ, with a cost per unit of fishing effort that depends on local fishery policy. The second one considers the case of a fully cooperative fishery performed by an international fleet freely moving across the borders. Both models are based on a set of six ordinary differential equations describing the time evolution of the fish biomass and the fishing effort. We take advantage of the two time scales to obtain a reduced model governing the total fish biomass of the system and fishing efforts in each zone. At the fast equilibrium, the fish distribution follows the ideal free distribution according to the carrying capacity in each area. Different equilibria can be reached according to management choices. When fishing fleets are independent and national fishery policies are not harmonized, in the general case, competition leads after a few decades to a scenario where only one fishery remains sustainable. In the case of sub-regional agreement acting on the adjustment of cost per unit of fishing effort in each EEZ, we found that a large number of equilibria exists. In this last case the initial distribution of fishing effort strongly impact the optimal equilibrium that can be reached. Lastly, the country with the highest carrying capacity density may get less landings when collaborating with other countries than if it minimises its fishing costs. The second fully cooperative model shows that a single international fishing fleet moving freely in the fishing areas leads to a sustainable equilibrium. Such findings should foster regional fisheries organizations to get potential new ways for neighbouring fish stock management.

Can Fishing Pressure Invert the Outcome of Interspecific Competition? The Case of the Thiof and of the Octopus Along the Senegalese Coast.

We present a mathematical model of two competing marine species that are harvested. We consider three models according to different levels of complexity, without and with species refuge and density-independent and density-dependent species movement between fishing area and refuge. We particularly study the effects of the fishing pressure on the outcome of the competition. We focus on conditions that allow an inferior competitor to invade as a result of fishing pressure. The model is discussed in relationship to the case of the thiof and the octopus along the Atlantic West African coast. At the origin, the thiof was abundant and the octopus scarce in that region. Since, the fishing pressure has strongly increased in some fishing areas leading to the depletion of the thiof and the invasion of its competitor, the octopus.

Interactions Between the Cross-Shore Structure of Small Pelagic Fish Population, Offshore Industrial Fisheries and Near Shore Artisanal Fisheries: A Mathematical Approach.

This work presents a mathematical model describing the interactions between the cross-shore structure of small pelagic fish population an their exploitation by coastal and offshore fisheries. The complete model is a system of seven ODE's governing three stocks of small pelagic fish population moving and growing between three zones. Two types of fishing fleets are inter-acting with the fish population, industrial boats, constrained to offshore area, and artisanal boats, operating from the shore. Two time scales were considered and we use aggregation methods that allow us to reduce the dimension of the model and to obtain an aggregated model, which is a four dimension one. The analysis of the aggregated model is performed. We discuss the possible equilibriums and their meaning in terms of fishery management. An interesting equilibrium state can be obtained for which we can expect coexistence and a stable equilibrium state between fish stocks and fishing efforts. Some identification parameters are also given in the discussion part of the model.

Effect of hawk-dove game on the dynamics of two competing species.

Outcomes of interspecific competition, and especially the possibility of coexistence, have been extensively studied in theoretical ecology because of their implications in community assemblages. During the last decades, the influence of different time scales through the local/regional dynamics of animal communities has received an increasing attention. Nevertheless, different time scales involved in interspecific competition can result form other processes than spatial dynamics. Here, we envision and analyze a new theoretical framework that couples a game theory approach for competition with a demographic model. We take advantage of these two time scales to derive a reduced model governing the total densities of the two populations and we study how these two time scales interfere and influence outcomes of species competition. We find that a competition process occurring on a faster time scale than demography yields a "priority effect" where the first species introduced outcompetes the other one. We then confirm previous findings stipulating that species coexistence is favored by large difference in time scales because the extinction/recolonization process. Our results then highlight that an integration of demographic and competition time scales at both local and regional levels is mandatory to explain communities assemblages and should become a research priority.

A mathematical model of a fishery with variable market price: sustainable fishery/over-exploitation.

We present a mathematical bioeconomic model of a fishery with a variable price. The model describes the time evolution of the resource, the fishing effort and the price which is assumed to vary with respect to supply and demand. The supply is the instantaneous catch while the demand function is assumed to be a monotone decreasing function of price. We show that a generic market price equation (MPE) can be derived and has to be solved to calculate non trivial equilibria of the model. This MPE can have 1, 2 or 3 equilibria. We perform the analysis of local and global stability of equilibria. The MPE is extended to two cases: an age-structured fish population and a fishery with storage of the resource.

A bioeconomic model of a multi-site fishery with nonlinear demand function: number of sites optimizing the total catch.

We present a mathematical model of a fishery on several sites with a variable price. The model takes into account the evolution during the time of the resource, fish and boat movement between the different sites, fishing effort and price that varies with respect to supply and demand. We suppose that the movements of the boats and resource as well as the variation of the price go on at a fast time scale. We use methods of aggregation of variables in order to reduce the number of variables and we derive a reduced model governing two global variables, respectively the biomass of the resource and the fishing effort of the whole fishery. We look for the existence of equilibria of the aggregated model and perform local stability analysis. Two main cases can occur. The first one corresponds to over-exploitation leading to fish extinction. At extinction, the fishing effort tends to a positive value. The second case corresponds to a durable fishery equilibrium which is globally asymptotically stable. In the later case, we show that there exists a number of fishing sites that optimizes the total catch of the fishery.

Effect of small versus large clusters of fish school on the yield of a purse-seine small pelagic fishery including a marine protected area.

We consider a fishery model with two sites: (1) a marine protected area (MPA) where fishing is prohibited and (2) an area where the fish population is harvested. We assume that fish can migrate from MPA to fishing area at a very fast time scale and fish spatial organisation can change from small to large clusters of school at a fast time scale. The growth of the fish population and the catch are assumed to occur at a slow time scale. The complete model is a system of five ordinary differential equations with three time scales. We take advantage of the time scales using aggregation of variables methods to derive a reduced model governing the total fish density and fishing effort at the slow time scale. We analyze this aggregated model and show that under some conditions, there exists an equilibrium corresponding to a sustainable fishery. Our results suggest that in small pelagic fisheries the yield is maximum for a fish population distributed among both small and large clusters of school.

Review of health hazards and prevention measures for response and recovery workers and volunteers after natural disasters, flooding, and water damage: mold and dampness.

Health problems and illnesses encountered by unprotected workers, first-responders, home-owners, and volunteers in recovery and restoration of moldy indoor environments after hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, and flooding damage are a growing concern for healthcare providers and disaster medicine throughout the world. Damp building materials, particularly cellulose-containing substrates, are prone to fungal (mold) and bacterial infestation. During remediation and demolition work, the airborne concentrations of such microbes and their by-products can rise significantly and result in an exposure risk. Symptoms reported by unprotected workers and volunteers may relate to reactions of the airways, skin, mucous membranes, or internal organs. Dampness-related fungi are primarily associated with allergies, respiratory symptoms or diseases such as dermatitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, and asthma, as well as changes of the immunological system. Also, cognitive, endocrine, or rheumatological changes have been reported. Based on the consensus among experts at a recent scientific conference and a literature review, it is generally recommended to avoid and minimize unnecessary fungal exposure and use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in disaster response and recovery work. Mycologists recommend addressing any moisture or water intrusion rapidly, since significant mold growth can occur within 48 h. Systematic source removal, cleaning with "soap and water," and "bulk removal" followed by high-efficiency particulate air vacuuming is recommended in most cases; use of "biocides" should be avoided in occupied areas. Public health agencies recommend use of adequate respiratory, skin, and eye protection. Workers can be protected against these diseases by use of dust control measures and appropriate personal protective equipment. At a minimum, a facial dust mask such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 respirator should be used for mold remediation jobs. For any large-scale projects, trained remediation workers who have medical clearance and use proper personal protection (PPE) should be employed.

Basic reproduction ratio for a fishery model in a patchy environment.

We present a dynamical model of a multi-site fishery. The fish stock is located on a discrete set of fish habitats where it is catched by the fishing fleet. We assume that fishes remain on fishing habitats while the fishing vessels can move at a fast time scale to visit the different fishing sites. We use the existence of two time scales to reduce the dimension of the model : we build an aggregated model considering the habitat fish densities and the total fishing effort. We explore a regulation procedure, which imposes an average residence time in patches. Several equilibria exist, a Fishery Free Equilibria (FFEs) as well as a Sustainable Fishery Equilibria (SFEs). We show that the dynamics depends on a threshold which is similar to a basic reproduction ratio for the fishery. When the basic reproduction ratio is less or equal to 1, one of the FFEs is globally asymptotically stable (GAS), otherwise one of the SFEs is GAS.

Seizures and hyponatremia related to ethcathinone and methylone poisoning.

INTRODUCTION: We report a case of ethcathinone and methylone poisoning with severe clinical toxicity. This is to our knowledge the first case reported in the medical toxicology literature. CASE REPORT: A 22-year-old woman was brought to the emergency department following several episodes of tonicoclonic seizures, a few hours after ingesting "legal ecstasy". The patient needed intubation for recurrent seizures, and she was found to have severe hyponatremia (120 mmol/L) that was corrected with hypertonic saline. The patient's mental status improved rapidly, and she was extubated the day following her admission. However, she developed prolonged rhabdomyolysis (CK 34.537 U/L) that required a 6-day hospitalisation. DISCUSSION: The seizures and the hyponatremia may be explained by the MDMA-like characteristics of methylone that may induce inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone mediated via the serotonin system. The combination of methylone and ethcatinone (both acting like serotonin reuptake inhibitors) might have contributed to neurologic manifestations compatible with serotonin toxicity, although our patient never had autonomic instability. Our patient had a prolonged period of rhabdomyolysis which may also be explained by excessive serotonin activity resulting in an increased motor hyperactivity. The public has to be aware of this growing health problem. Clinicians must report future cases of toxicity related to the use of cathinone synthetic derivatives in order to increase our knowledge of these substances.

Optimal number of sites in multi-site fisheries with fish stock dependent migrations.

We present a stock-effort dynamical model of a fishery subdivided into fishing zones. The stock corresponds to a fish population moving between these zones, on which they are harvested by fishing fleets. We consider a linear chain of identical fishing zones. Fish movements between the zones, as well as vessels displacements, are assumed to take place at a faster time scale than the variation of the stock and the change of the fleet size. The vessels movements between the fishing areas are assumed to be stock dependent, i.e. the larger the stock density is in a zone the more vessels tends to remain in it. We take advantage of these two time scales to derive a reduced model governing the dynamics of the total harvested stock and the total fishing effort. Under some assumption, we obtain either a stable equilibrium or a stable limit cycle which involves large cyclic variations of the total fish stock and fishing effort. We show that there exists an optimal number of fishing zones that maximizes the total catch at equilibrium. We discuss the results in relation to fish aggregating devices (FADs) fisheries.