Advances in Mathematical Ecology and Epidemiology: MPDEE 2022 and Beyond

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390). This special issue belongs to the section "Mathematical Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 2649

Special Issue Editors

Department of Mathematics Giuseppe Peano, University of Torino, I-10100 Torino, Italy
Interests: numerical analysis; mathematical biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humankind and life on Earth more generally are presently facing unprecedented challenges. Habitat fragmentation and biological invasions, exacerbated by the global climate change, have resulted in elevated species extinction rates coupled with an accelerated loss of biodiversity and new threats posed by alien exotic species invasions. This has a variety of adverse impacts, in particular on agri-ecosystems and agriculture more broadly. The spread of insects from the tropical areas carrying viruses causing outbreaks of new or rare diseases poses another threat. Efficient, sustainable solutions to these problems can only be found though a rigorous scientific approach. There is an urgent need for ground-breaking ideas and better understanding in life sciences, ecology and environmental science. Direct communication and exchange of ideas between experts in relevant research fields is one way to facilitate this.

An interdisciplinary forum where knowledge from these different fields can be exchanged would be a first step on the way to addressing these problems hovering over humanity. For instance, precision agriculture requires tools that go beyond the purely biological/ecological settings and mathematical modeling, being widely recognized as a powerful research approach to problems arising in natural sciences, would provide such an instrument.

The recent international conference MPDEE 2022 (Torino, Italy, June 13-17, 2022) contributes to this debate by bringing together leading researchers in theoretical and mathematical ecology, digital agriculture, evolutionary ecology, mathematical epidemiology and related fields. This Special Issue is designed to reflect the main content of the conference by publishing contributions from several key MPDEE 2022 participants. However, it is expected to bring it well beyond the scope of the conference. Being intended to partially play the role of the conference proceedings, it is open to all interested authors. We especially welcome contributions on the following topics:

  • models of population dynamics and ecological complexity;
  • evolutionary and collective dynamics;
  • biological control of invasive pests;
  • models for precision agriculture;
  • mathematical epidemiology and ecoepidemiology;
  • climate changes, habitat fragmentation and pattern formation.

The above list is by no means exclusive and contributions on other relevant topics will also be considered. Both analytical studies and simulations-based studies are welcome. 

Prof. Dr. Sergei Petrovskii
Prof. Dr. Ezio Venturino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2296 KiB  
Article
Vegetation Patterns in the Hyperbolic Klausmeier Model with Secondary Seed Dispersal
by Gabriele Grifò
Mathematics 2023, 11(5), 1084; https://doi.org/10.3390/math11051084 - 21 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1184
Abstract
This work focuses on the dynamics of vegetation stripes in sloped semi-arid environments in the presence of secondary seed dispersal and inertial effects. To this aim, a hyperbolic generalization of the Klausmeier model that encloses the advective downhill transport of plant biomass is [...] Read more.
This work focuses on the dynamics of vegetation stripes in sloped semi-arid environments in the presence of secondary seed dispersal and inertial effects. To this aim, a hyperbolic generalization of the Klausmeier model that encloses the advective downhill transport of plant biomass is taken into account. Analytical investigations were performed to deduce the wave and Turing instability loci at which oscillatory and stationary vegetation patterns arise, respectively. Additional information on the possibility of predicting a null-migrating behavior was extracted with suitable approximations of the dispersion relation. Numerical simulations were also carried out to corroborate theoretical predictions and to gain more insights into the dynamics of vegetation stripes at, close to, and far from the instability threshold. Full article
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10 pages, 1032 KiB  
Article
Iron Transport across Brain Barriers: Model and Numerical Parameter Estimation
by Eleonora Ficiarà, Ilaria Stura and Caterina Guiot
Mathematics 2022, 10(23), 4461; https://doi.org/10.3390/math10234461 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 865
Abstract
Iron is an essential element for brain metabolism. However, its imbalance and accumulation are implicated in the processes featuring neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The brain barrier’s system maintains the sensitive homeostasis of iron in the brain. However, the impairment of [...] Read more.
Iron is an essential element for brain metabolism. However, its imbalance and accumulation are implicated in the processes featuring neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The brain barrier’s system maintains the sensitive homeostasis of iron in the brain. However, the impairment of the mechanisms of iron passage across the brain barrier is not clearly established. A mathematical model is proposed to macroscopically describe the iron exchange between blood and cerebral compartments. Numerical simulations are performed to reproduce biological values of iron levels in physiological and pathological conditions. Moreover, given different scenarios (neurological control and AD patients), a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is applied to estimate the parameters. This reverse work could be important to allow the understanding of the patient’s scenario. The presented mathematical model can therefore guide new experiments, highlighting further dysregulated mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration as well as the novel disease-modifying therapies counteracting the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Full article
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