ECOP Subgroup Contributed Talks

Kayode Oshinubi

Northern Arizona University

"Forecasting Mosquito Population in Maricopa County Using Climate Factors and Filtering Techniques"

Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant public health challenge, and effective prevention requires accurate forecasting of mosquito populations. In this study, we developed a statistical forecasting framework that leverages climate factors, such as temperature and precipitation, to improve mosquito population predictions in Maricopa County, Arizona. Our approach combines adaptive modeling techniques and filtering methods to infer precise model parameters and address previously observed limitations, particularly the inability to capture spring dynamics. By incorporating an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) method, we estimated time-varying parameters (baseline population growth rate) and static parameters while resolving the spring problem observed in prior models. Using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs), we forecasted the baseline population growth rate on a weekly basis, integrating precipitation and temperature data as covariates. These forecasts were further used to run a mechanistic ordinary differential equation (ODE) model to predict mosquito abundance and estimate associated uncertainties. Our iterative framework was applied weekly over a 52-week period, successfully capturing seasonal variations in mosquito populations from 2014 to 2015. The EnKF demonstrated superior performance compared to traditional Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approaches for fitting mosquito abundance data. This enhanced methodology provides actionable insights for public health decision-makers, supporting resource allocation and improving outcomes in mosquito-borne disease prevention. Our findings underscore the value of integrating climate data and adaptive filtering techniques to address forecasting challenges, ultimately enabling more effective responses to emerging or reemerging pathogens of mosquito-borne disease risks, which can be driven by human behavior to become a pandemic.

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Ryan Palmer

University of Bristol, UK

"Modelling electrostatic sensory interactions between plants and polinators: a guide from AAA to Bee"

Plant-arthropod relationships are crucial to the health of global ecosystems and food production. Through co-evolution, arthropods have acquired a variety of novel senses in response to the emergence of floral cues such as scent, colour and shape. The recent discovery that several terrestrial arthropods can sense electrical fields (e-fields) motivates the investigation of floral e-fields as part of their wider sensory ecology. That is, how does a flower's morphology and material properties produce and propagate detectable, ecologically relevant electrical signals? To investigate this, we modelled the e-field interior and exterior of a flower using a novel modification of the popular AAA-least squares algorithm, extending it to two domain boundary value problems. Physically, flowers typically act as dielectrics that inductively charge in the presence of a background electrical field, e.g. charged pollinators or the Earth's atmospheric potential gradient. We therefore present the development and application of this new method for these cases and discuss the biological relevance of the results for sensory and ecological studies. Our adapted AAA algorithm gives accurate and rapid results dependent on only three parameters: the relative permittivity of the flower, flower shape and the location of the pollinator(s). The results show how flowers display distinct information about their morphology, pollen availability and nearby pollinators, at distance, through the perturbed e-field. As well as how predators, such as the crab spider, can use flowers to mask their own electrical presence and draw in unsuspecting prey. The results of the two-dimensional AAA method also shows good qualitative agreement with equivalent three-dimensional finite element models. Biologically, our results highlight the significant role floral electrics may play in plant-pollinator and predator-prey relationships, unveiling previously unstudied facets.

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Tamantha Pizarro

Arizona State University

"Impacts of Social Organization and Competition on Social Insect Population Dynamics"

In this study, we utilize the species Pogonomyrmex californicus, a type of queen ant that exhibits two distinct behavioral subtypes, as inspiration for our mathematical model. The first, known as solitary queens, establish colonies independently and represent the ancestral lineage. The second subtype, cooperative queens, form groups that collectively found a single colony—an evolutionary adaptation. Laboratory experiments have revealed that these queen types display distinct behavioral traits, or personalities. To better understand the ecological implications of these differences, we develop an ordinary differential equations (ODE) model that incorporates the effects of resource availability and social organization among adult ants, particularly in relation to brood care and foraging behaviors. Our model allows for Hopf bifurcations, enabling us to analyze the conditions under which colony coexistence is promoted or collapses. With this framework, we seek to address the following key questions: How does dependency on resource availability impact the survival of each queen type? How do social organization and resource dependency together influence queen survival, and what new conditions must be met for their persistence?

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Femke Reurik

Osnabrueck University

"Connectivity, conservation, and catch: understanding the effects of dispersal between harvested and protected patches"

Overharvesting is a pressing global problem, and spatial management, such as protecting designated areas, is one proposed solution. This talk examines how dispersal between protected and harvested areas affects the asymptotic total population size and the asymptotic yield, which are key questions for conservation management and the design of protected areas. We utilize a two-patch model with heterogeneous habitat qualities, symmetric dispersal and density-dependent growth functions in both discrete and continuous time. One patch is subject to proportional harvesting, while the other one is protected. Our results demonstrate that increased dispersal does not always increase the asymptotic total population size or the asymptotic yield. Depending on the circumstances, dispersal enables the protected patch to rescue the harvested patch from overexploitation, potentially increasing both total population size and yield. However, high levels of dispersal can also lead to a lower total population size or even cause extinction of both patches if harvesting pressure is strong. The population in the protected patch needs to have high reproductive potential and the patch needs to be the effectively larger patch in order to benefit monotonically from increased dispersal. These findings provide a fundamental understanding of how dispersal influences dynamics in fragmented landscapes under harvesting pressure.

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Shohel Ahmed

University of Alberta

"Stoichiometric theory in optimal foraging strategy"

Understanding how organisms make choices about what to eat is a fascinating puzzle explored in this study, which employs stoichiometric modeling and optimal forag- ing principles. The research delves into the intricate balance of nutrient intake with foraging strategies, investigating quality and quantity-based food selection through mathematical models. The stoichiometric models in this study, encompassing pro- ducers and a grazer, unveils the dynamics of decision-making processes, introducing fixed and variable energetic foraging costs. Analysis reveals cell quota-dependent pre- dation behaviors, elucidating biological phenomena such as “compensatory foraging behaviors” and the “stoichiometric extinction effect”. The Marginal Value Theorem quantifies food selection, highlighting the profitability of prey items and emphasizing its role in optimizing foraging strategies in predator–prey dynamics. The environ- mental factors like light and nutrient availability prove pivotal in shaping optimal foraging strategies, with numerical results from a multi-species model contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between organisms and their environment.

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