Models of marine molluscan diseases: Trends and challenges

Disease effects on host population dynamics and the transmission of pathogens between hosts are two important challenges for understanding how epizootics wax and wane and how disease influences host population dynamics. For the management of marine shellfish resources, marine diseases pose additional challenges in early intervention after the appearance of disease, management of the diseased population to limit a decline in host abundance, and application of measures to restrain that decline once it occurs. Mathematical models provide one approach for quantifying these effects and addressing the competing goals of managing the diseased population versus managing the disease. The majority of models for molluscan diseases fall into three categories distinguished by these competing goals. (1) Models that consider disease effects on the host population tend to focus on pathogen proliferation within the host. Many of the well-known molluscan diseases are pandemic, in that they routinely reach high prevalence rapidly over large geographic expanses, are characterized by transmission that does not depend upon a local source, and exert a significant influence on host population dynamics. Models focused on disease proliferation examine the influence of environmental change on host population metrics and provide a basis to better manage diseased stocks. Such models are readily adapted to questions of fishery management and habitat restoration. (2) Transmission models are designed to understand the mechanisms triggering epizootics, identify factors impeding epizootic development, and evaluate controls on the rate of disease spread over the host's range. Transmission models have been used extensively to study terrestrial diseases, yet little attention has been given to their potential for understanding the epidemiology of marine molluscan diseases. For management of diseases of wild stocks, transmission models open up a range of options, including the application of area management, manipulation of host abundance, and use of scavengers and filter feeders to limit the concentration of infective particles. (3) The details of host population processes and pathogen transmission dynamics are blended in models that evaluate the effects of natural selection and/or genetic modification in developing disease resistance in the host population. Application of gene-based models to marine diseases is only now beginning and represents a promising approach that may provide a mechanistic basis for managing marine diseases and their host populations. Overall disease models remain both uncommon and underutilized in addressing the needs for managing molluscan diseases and their host populations.