Ecological modeling applied to population dynamics and trophic interactions in insects of economic importance

Abstract

The present study aims to implement an alternative methodology for the analysis of pest population dynamics and their natural enemies, by using ecological modeling combined to experimentation. For this, some models are proposed to investigate the pest and predator-prey dynamics and the trophic systems of interest. The project is divided into four parts; the first one is focused on ecological modeling of the main species collected taking into account frequency and abundance over a 12-month survey in forest ecosystems. The second and third sub-projects are focused on potential predators that can act to control pests. For this case, the proposal presents mathematical models for potential application in studies of this nature including population dynamic studies and integrated pest management strateties to the modeling. The fourth subproject proposes to carry out statistical modeling for predators based on the trophic optimization given by comparing the bionomic best gain for the predator that exploits prey. (AU)