Discrete Models of Disease and Competition

The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of the fast development of a disease on competition dynamics. To this end we present two discrete time ecoepidemic models. The first one corresponds to the case of one parasite affecting demography and intraspecific competition in a single host, where...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: R. Bravo de la Parra, M. Marvá, E. Sánchez, L. Sanz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5310837
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Summary:The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of the fast development of a disease on competition dynamics. To this end we present two discrete time ecoepidemic models. The first one corresponds to the case of one parasite affecting demography and intraspecific competition in a single host, whereas the second one contemplates the more complex case of competition between two different species, one of which is infected by the parasite. We carry out a complete mathematical analysis of the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the corresponding systems of difference equations and derive interesting ecological information about the influence of a disease in competition dynamics. This includes an assessment of the impact of the disease on the equilibrium population of both species as well as some counterintuitive behaviors in which although we would expect the outbreak of the disease to negatively affect the infected species, the contrary happens.
ISSN:1026-0226
1607-887X