Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

A host-parasite model yielding heterogeneous parasite loads

A D Barbour1, M Kafetzaki

  • 1Institut für Angewandte Mathematik, Universität Zürich, Switzerland.

Journal of Mathematical Biology
|January 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a novel model for parasitic infections, demonstrating how host similarity can still result in highly over-dispersed parasite distributions. This mathematical model offers new insights into host-parasite dynamics.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Local approximation of a metapopulation's equilibrium.

Journal of mathematical biology·2018
Same author

Simulating the component counts of combinatorial structures.

Theoretical population biology·2018
Same author

Connecting deterministic and stochastic metapopulation models.

Journal of mathematical biology·2015
Same author

Individual and patch behaviour in structured metapopulation models.

Journal of mathematical biology·2014
Same author

Estimating the fitness effect of an insertion sequence.

Journal of mathematical biology·2012
Same author

Emergent multicellular life cycles in filamentous bacteria owing to density-dependent population dynamics.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2011

Area of Science:

  • Mathematical Biology
  • Parasitology
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Parasitic infection models often predict Poisson distributions, which contrast with observed over-dispersed parasite loads in real populations.
  • Existing models struggle to explain the heterogeneity of parasite distribution among hosts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze a mathematical model that generates highly over-dispersed parasite distributions among hosts.
  • To explore how host similarity can lead to population heterogeneity in parasite loads.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a simple mean-field interacting particle system representing hosts.
  • Behavioral analysis of the system as a deterministic system for large host populations.
  • Interpretation of equilibria of the deterministic system as parasite distributions.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • The model, despite assuming homogeneous hosts, produces significantly over-dispersed parasite distributions.
  • The associated deterministic system effectively models the evolution of parasite load proportions over time.

Conclusions:

  • This model provides a framework for understanding parasite over-dispersion even with homogeneous hosts.
  • The mathematical complexity of the model presents opportunities for further research in host-parasite dynamics.