Augmentative biocontrol when natural enemies are subject to Allee effects (Q2358405)

In this paper the authors consider hybrid control systems representing the biological evolution of two populations: prey (denoted by \(x\)) and predator (denoted by \(y\)). The pray is thought of as a pest, while the predator is a species of natural enemies. The model includes so-called (intra-specific) component Allee effects. In the more general form, the continuous time component of the system writes \[ \begin{cases} \dot x = f(x) -g(x)q_f(y)y, \\ \dot y = h(g(x)q_f(y))q_r(y)y-d(g(x)q_f(y))y\end{cases} \] (\(t\not=nT\)) where the functions \(f, h, g, q_f, q_r\) satisfy suitable assumptions motivated by the application. The control is exerted through a third (discrete time) equation \[ y(nT^+)=y(nT)+\mu T \] describing the periodic introduction of predators. The authors prove the existence of a periodic pest-free solution, and give conditions for its asymptotic stability. Several aspects of the problem are discussed, and numerical simulations are presented.