Spatial Pestilence Dynamics

This chapter expands and refines some earlier models, which included life stages of insects, by specifically distinguishing two cohorts of a population infected with a disease. The two populations modeled here are insects that suffer from a disease that increases mortality for the infected nymphs and adults and also decreases their egg-laying rate. Unlike the previous chapters, we assume two populations of insects living in two fields. One of the fields has generally better living conditions than the other, although a current year’s carrying capacities are randomly generated and there is some overlap in the ranges within which carrying capacities fluctuate.