ASSIGNMENT 2

1. Consider the differences between the types of questions on the previous written assignment, Assignment
1, and the types of questions on your high school math assignments. In one or two paragraphs, describe
one major difference, and explain how you might approach assignments in this course differently. Be
specific and provide details.
(All assignments starting from this one will include a reflection question designed to encourage you to
think deeply about how mathematics is done.)

Sea lice are a parasite that feed on salmon. They occur naturally in low densities on wild salmon, but
crowded conditions on salmon farms are ideal for sea louse outbreaks. Sea lice from salmon farms can spread
onto wild migrating salmon. To help protect wild salmon, the Canadian federal government requires salmon
farms to treat their fish with a parasiticide (or else to harvest the fish) when sea lice counts on a salmon
farm reach a threshold of three motile lice per fish.

A model for sea louse population on a salmon farm before and after treatment is given by
(
P eat if t < T
p(t) = ,
Qe−bt if t ≥ T

where p(t) is the number of motile lice per fish at time t in days, T is the time of treatment, and P, Q, a, b > 0
are constant parameters.

2. Find the value of Q such that p(t) is continuous for all t.

We require P eaT = Qe−bT . Solving for Q yields Q = P e(a+b)t .

In the winter of 2005-2006, the sea louse populations for two salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago
were fitted to the model above. The population graphs are shown in Figure 2 at the bottom of this document.

3. (a) Use the limit definition of derivative to show that p(t) satisfies the differential equation
(
′ ap(t) if t < T
p (t) = .
−bp(t) if t > T

ch − 1
(You may use without proof the fact that lim = log(c) for all c > 0.)
h→0 h
If t < T , then by the limit definition of derivative,

P ea(t+h) − P eat
p′ (t) = lim
h→0 h
a h
(e ) − 1
= P eat lim
h→0 h
= P eat log (ea )
= aP eat
= ap(t).
 Similarly, if t > T , then

Qe−b(t+h) − Qe−bt
p′ (t) = lim
h→0 h
h
(e−b ) − 1
= Qe−bt lim
h→0 h
= Qe−bt log e−b

= −bQeat
= −bp(t).

(b) Which of the two farms, Sargeaunt Pass or Humphrey Rock, has a larger parameter a? Justify your
answer carefully.
Let aS be the parameter for Sargeaunt Pass and aH by the parameter for Humphrey Rock. One
method is to compare the slopes of the two graphs at any identical population prior to the treatment.
Let p0 be one such population. (Note that p0 may be reached at different times on the different
graphs.) The slope of the graph at p0 is larger for Sargeaunt Pass than for Humphrey Rock. By the
differential equation in part (a), this means that aS p0 > aH p0 ; that is, aS > aH . Sargeaunt Pass
has a larger parameter a.
4. On the Sargeaunt Pass farm, the parameter b was measured to have the value b = 0.057. Juvenile wild
salmon begin migrating past the farm on March 1. On what date should treatment occur so that the sea
lice population on the farm is reduced by 95% by the time of migration? (Assume it is not a leap year.)
At the time of treatment T , the population is p(T ) = Qe−bT . Let t∗ > T be the time of migration. We
wish to find the time that must elapse between T and t∗ such that p(t∗ ) is equal to 0.05p(T ):

p(t∗ ) = 0.05p(T )
∗
Qe−bt = 0.05Qe−bT
∗
e−b(t −T ) = 0.05
−b(t∗ − T ) = log(0.05)
t∗ − T = log(0.05)
−b .

Thus the time that must elapse is t∗ − T = − log(0.05)

0.057 ≈ 53 days. Treatment should occur on January 7.
 Figure 1: Sea lice on wild juvenile salmon

Figure 2: Number of motile sea lice per fish during the winter of 2005-2006 on two salmon farms in the
Broughton Archipelago: (a) Sargeaunt Pass and (b) Humphrey Rock. The dashed line indicates the time of
parasiticide treatment.
Additional note

It turns out that the rate of sea louse population decline on Sargeaunt Pass following parasiticide treatment
is typical for salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago. Therefore it is generally advised that salmon
farms treat their salmon around the end of January so that sea louse numbers on farms are low when wild
salmon migrate past the farms in early March.