Abstract

COMPETITION AS MAJOR CAUSATIVE FACTOR OF POPULATION DYNAMICS: A CASE STUDY OF APHIDS, THRIPS AND WHITEFLIES IN SOLANACEOUS VEGETABLE PLANTS

S. Musa,1 A. O. Adesanya2 and T. A. Shamaki3*

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This study examines a Lotka - Volterra (LV) mathematical model on the population dynamics of aphids, thrips and whiteflies as pests competing for resources from solanaceous vegetable plants. The stability, coexistence and long term qualitative behavior of the model is analyzed. The effect of the competition indicates that whiteflies thrive better than thrips; but on the whole, aphids have demonstrated competitive advantage over both thrips and whiteflies species. Keywords: Aphis, Thrips, Whiteflies, Competition Model, Population Dynamics.

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