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On a model for interference between searching insect parasites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

P. K. Pollett
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072.
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Abstract

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The purpose of this paper is to study a stochastic model which assesses the effect of mutual interference on the searching efficiency in populations of insect parasites. By looking carefully at the assumptions which govern the model, I shall explain why the searching efficiency is of the same order as the total number, N, in the population, a conclusion which is consistent with the predictions of population biologists; previous studies have reached the conclusion that the efficiency is of order . The major results of the paper establish normal approximations for the distribution of the numbers of active parasites. These are valid at all stages of the process, in particular the non-equilibrium phase, where explicit analytic formulae for the state-probabilities are unavailable.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Mathematical Society 1990