Browsing by Author "Venturino, Ezio"

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Can Symbiotic Fungi Protect Plants From Insect Pests? a Simple Mathematical Model
(Wiley, 2021) Atlihan, Remzi; Britton, Nicholas F.; Demir, Semra; Papasidero, Annalisa; Risvanli, Mehmet Ramazan; Seminara, Manuela; Venturino, Ezio
A mathematical model is proposed for simulating and understanding the relationship between the potato plant and its most significant pest, the Colorado potato beetle, when mediated by mycorrhiza, a symbiotic plant-fungus association. From its analysis it is seen that, quite counterintuitively, an overabundant use of mycorrhiza for enhancing productivity is rather detrimental, in that it triggers persistent oscillations in the foliage and the population of the beetle, giving an instance of the paradox of enrichment. Some indications for biological pest control arise from the investigation of the bifurcations that occur in the model ecosystem.
A More Refined Mathematical Model for the Mycorrhiza-Potato Plant-Colorado Potato Beetle Interactions
(Elsevier, 2021) Seminara, Manuela; Atlihan, Remzi; Britton, Nicholas F.; Demir, Semra; Risvanli, Mehmet Ramazan; Venturino, Ezio
A model for the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), potato plant and mycorrhiza mutual interactions is presented, accounting for the symbiotic and predator-prey features of this system. The study is performed to determine if arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase potato tolerance to CPB. To this end, data collected by biological experiments are used. The system exhibits several possible equilibria that are related to each other via bifurcations. The latter are investigated both analytically and through simulations. The results indicate that the use of mycorrhiza is effective in keeping the pest population at low levels.