Pathogen exclusion from eco-epidemiological systems.
Am Nat
; 176(2): 149-58, 2010 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20504229
ABSTRACT
Increasing concerns about the changing environment and the emergence of pathogens that cross species boundaries have added to the urgency of understanding the dynamics of complex ecological systems infected by pathogens. Of particular interest is the often counterintuitive way in which infection and predation interact and the consequent difficulties in designing control strategies to manage the system. To understand the mechanisms involved, we focus on the pathogen exclusion problem, using control maps (on which the network of exclusion thresholds are plotted) in order to readily identify which exclusion strategies will work and why others will not. We apply this approach to the analysis of parasite exclusion in two game bird ecologies. For higher dimensions, we propose a computational scheme that will generate the optimal exclusion strategy, taking into account all operational constraints on the pathogen invasion matrix, populations, and controls. The situation is further complicated when external forcing distorts pathogen thresholds. This distortion is highly sensitive to the lags between forcing components, a sensitivity that can be exploited by management using correctly lagged cyclically varying controls to reduce the effort involved in pathogen exclusion.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ecossistema
/
Galliformes
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am Nat
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido