On a model for population with age structure

In this paper we study a linear continuous model describing age structure into a dynamics of one sex population, related with the McKendrick model. McKendrick assumes that the female population can be described by a function of two variables, age and time. Using the method of characteristics and Laplace transform, it is possible to find the function representing the number of births in unit time t and the total population size in some particular cases. In the content of some works referring to the behavior of age-structure one sex population is presented the complete model of the Lotka-McKendrick equation given in the system (5) for simple cases. The genesis model is a simple one that works with the Dirac distribution and it is presented in [1]. When the birth modulus is given by the relation (9), we determine the differential-difference equation for the function B(t) which represents the number of births in unit time, given in (3).

PREDATOR–PREY MODEL WITH AGE STRUCTURE

Mealybug is an important pest of cassava plant in Thailand and tropical countries, leading to severe damage of crop yield. One of the most successful controls of mealybug spread is using its natural enemies such as green lacewings, where the development of mathematical models forecasting mealybug population dynamics improves implementation of biological control. In this work, the Sharpe–Lotka–McKendrick equation is extended and combined with an integro-differential equation to study population dynamics of mealybugs (prey) and released green lacewings (predator). Here, an age-dependent formula is employed for mealybug population. The solutions and the stability of the system are considered. The steady age distributions and their bifurcation diagrams are presented. Finally, the threshold of the rate of released green lacewings for mealybug extermination is investigated.

Relating the Progeny Production Curve to the Speed of an Epidemic

The dependence of the initial infection rate, r, on the basic reproductive number, R0, and the temporal moments of the progeny production curve are examined. A solution to the linearized Kermack-McKendrick equation is presented and used to analyze a variety of theoretical models of pathogen reproduction. The solution yields a relation between r and the basic reproductive number, R0; the mean time between pathogen generations, μ; and the standard deviation about this mean, σ. A transformation using the dimensionless variables rμ and rσ is introduced, which maps the solution onto a one-dimensional curve. An approximation for the value of r in terms of R0 and the first four temporal moments of the reproductive curve is derived. This allows direct comparison of epidemics resulting from theoretical models with those generated using experimentally obtained reproduction curves. For epidemics characterized by a value of rμ < 5, the value of r is well determined (<2%) by this fourth-order expansion regardless of the functional form of the reproduction curve.

DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN METHODS FOR THE LOTKA–MCKENDRICK EQUATION WITH FINITE LIFE-SPAN

We consider a model of population dynamics whose mortality function is unbounded and the solution is not regular near the maximum age. A continuous-time discontinuous Galerkin method to approximate the solution is described and analyzed. Our results show that the scheme is convergent, in L∞(L2) norm, at the rate of r + 1/2 away from the maximum age and that it is convergent at the rate of l - 1/(2q) + α/2 in L2(L2) norm, near the maximum age, if u ∈ L2(Wl,2q), where q ≥ 1, 1/2 ≤ l ≤ r + 1, r is the degree of the polynomial of the approximation space, and α is the growth rate of the mortality function; this estimate is super-convergent near the maximum age. Strong stability of the scheme is shown.