Can scavengers save zebras from anthrax? A modeling study

Mackey, Crystal; Kribs, Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.idm.2020.10.016

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Surpluses of carcasses on a landscape, sometimes abrupt and massive, can increase potential for pathogen spread, and are increasing in frequency with global change (Thomas et al, 2004 ). Regardless of how carrion is generated, both vertebrate and invertebrate scavenging species often reduce the time in which a carcass is decomposing on the landscape, reducing the time available for diseases to spread (Hill et al, 2018 ; Mackey & Kribs, 2021 ). Invertebrate scavengers are particularly productive in carrion mass loss, accounting for the removal of up to 90% of tissues from vertebrate carcasses within several days (Payne, 1965 ).…”

Section: Disease Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating terrestrial scavenging ecology into contemporary wildlife conservation and management

Patterson

DeVault

Beasley

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Scavenging plays a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health and contributing to ecological functions; however, research in this sub‐discipline of ecology is underutilized in developing and implementing wildlife conservation and management strategies. We provide an examination of the literature and recommend priorities for research where improved understanding of scavenging dynamics can facilitate the development and refinement of applied wildlife conservation and management strategies. Due to the application of scavenging research broadly within ecology, scavenging studies should be implemented for informing management decisions. In particular, a more direct link should be established between scavenging dynamics and applied management programs related to informing pharmaceutical delivery and population control through bait uptake for scavenging species, prevention of unintentional poisoning of nontarget scavenging species, the epidemiological role that scavenging species play in disease dynamics, estimating wildlife mortalities, nutrient transfer facilitated by scavenging activity, and conservation of imperiled facultative scavenging species. This commentary is intended to provide information on the paucity of data in scavenging research and present recommendations for further studies that can inform decisions in wildlife conservation and management. Additionally, we provide a framework for decision‐making when determining how to apply scavenging ecology research for management practices and policies. Due to the implications that scavenging species have on ecosystem health, and their overall global decline as a result of anthropic activities, it is imperative to advance studies in the field of scavenging ecology that can inform applied conservation and management programs.

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Section: Disease Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating terrestrial scavenging ecology into contemporary wildlife conservation and management

Patterson

DeVault

Beasley

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Cruikshank [15] examined pancreatic tumor growth and shrinkage via ordinary differential equations to predict tumor response and change of respectability for pancreatic cancer patients undergoing RT. These mathematical models have been progressively applied to different biological systems and processes to analyze their mechanisms [16–20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the role of optimization in the cancer treatment by radiation therapy (RT)

Chaharborj

Yarahmadian

2023

Math Methods in App Sciences

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In this paper, we present a mathematical model that analyzes cancer treatment via radiotherapy and proposes ways to control its progression. To identify preventive measures for cancer in its early stages, scientists have studied both risk factors and protective factors. In our model, we consider the disease‐free equilibrium points, namely, the trivial equilibrium (TE), healthy cell absenteeism equilibrium (HCAE), cancer cell absenteeism equilibrium (CCAE), and cancer cell incidence equilibrium (CCIE). We use nonlinear analysis techniques and the spectral radius method to study the stability and instability of systems. Since the reproduction number plays a critical role in stability analysis, we use the spectral radius method to evaluate it. We have also added a control function to the model to enhance it by including interactions between healthy and cancer cells. Optimization techniques are used to identify the limitations and needs of the problem and derive the best solutions to control the tumor. We conduct sensitivity analysis with respect to various parameters to study the model's robustness. To validate our methods and results, we provide simulations and numerical analysis.

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