Ezio Venturino, professeur en Bio-mathématique à l’université de Turin, passe l’été à Chrono-environnement, deux mois d’échanges scientifiques avec ses collègues mathématiciens et écologues. Interview
Welcome to the lab, who are you ?
I am a professor in Numerical Analysis at the University of Torino, Italy.
Got a Master in Math in Torino then a Master and a PhD in Applied Mathematics in the US, in Stony Brook, NY.
However since more than 20 years I am working in Mathematics applied to biology, mainly population theory. I collaborate with ecologists and biologists in my University as well as in many other countries.
Here I collaborate with the group of Antoine Perasso, Francis Raoul and colleagues. In particular also with Segolene Lireux that is working toward her PhD degree.
Why did you come to the lab ?
I got an invitation from Antoine Perasso in the winter, during his (and colleagues) visit in Torino, and accepted immediately with enthousiasm. It is not the first time I come, I was engaged in a committee a few years back and also in 2015 I took part in the MB2 conference in Metabief and the next one that was held here in 2018.
What do you plan for the next weeks ?
I plan to interact with the collaborators here on a joint project, a mathematical model of rodents and their predators, at different trophic levels, and hope that by the end of the stay a draft can be finished. Also, I think to contribute to the activities of the group by giving a seminar on my researches. It is very likely that this experience, that I enjoy very much, will be repeated also in the summer of the next year.
How long do you stay in Besancon ?
I plan to stay until mid September, as in the third week of that month there is the ECMTB (European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology) in Heidelberg, that I plan to attend, before returning in my home University.
Last but not least, what are your 3 recent papers ?
D. Melchionda, E. Pastacaldi, C. Perri, M. Banerjee, E. Venturino, Social behavior-induced multistability in minimal competitive ecosystems, J. Theoretical Biology 439, 24-38, (2018).
S. Pappalardo, M. Villa, S.A.P. Santos, J. Benhadi-Marin, J. Alberto Pereira, E. Venturino, A tritrophic interaction model for an olive tree pest, the olive moth Prays oleae (Bernard),
Ecological Modelling 462 (2021).
E. Caudera, S. Viale, S. Bertolino, J. Cerri, E. Venturino, A mathematical model supporting a hyperpredation effect in the apparent competition between invasive Eastern cottontail and native European hare,, Bull. Math.Biol. 83, 51 (2021).
Seminar titled Foxes and Hares interplay under Cottontails invasion
Abstract
The Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus is a lagomorph native to North America, introduced in Italy, where it overlaps its range with the native European hare Lepus europaeus and affects the predator-prey dynamics of native hares and foxes. Mathematical models for this situation will be presented. In particular one explores
the negative impact of this invasion on the native European hare. Two non-exclusive assumptions exist based on field data : an increase in cottontail abundance would lead to a larger fox population, magnifying their predatory impact ("hyperpredation’’) on hares ; alternatively, cottontails attract foxes in patches where they live, that are also important resting sites for hares and consequently the increased presence of foxes results in a higher predation rates on hares. The model results support hyperpredation of increasing fox populations on native hares.
Field data indicate that the cottontail can be infected by the European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) virus. A cottontail-hare-fox model including possible effects of EBHS imported by foxes through environmental contamination is also discussed. A rather complete map of the possible system equilibria and their mutual relationship and transition is established.
