Simultaneous effect of two toxicants on biological species: a mathematical model

Abstract

In this paper, a mathematical model to study the simultaneous effect of two toxicants (one is more toxic than the other) on the growth and survival of a biological species is proposed. The cases of instantaneous spill, constant and periodic emissions of each of the toxicant into the environment are considered. It is shown that in the case of an instantaneous spill of each of the toxicant into the environment, the species after its initial decrease in density may recover to its original level after a period of time, the magnitude of which depends on the toxicity and washout rate of each of the toxicant. However, if both the toxicants are emitted with constant rates, the species in the habitat is doomed to extinction sooner than the case of a single toxicant having the same influx and washout rates as one of them, the extinction rate becoming faster with the increase in toxicity and emission rate of the other toxicant. It is also shown that for a small amplitude periodic emission of the toxicant with a constant mean, the stability behavior of the system is same as that of the case of the constant emission. It is found further through the model study that if suitable efforts are made to reduce the emission rate of each of the toxicant at the source and its concentration in the environment by some removal mechanism, an appropriate level of species density can be maintained.