Large and Small Data Blow-Up Solutions in the Trojan Y Chromosome Model

Abstract: The Trojan Y Chromosome Strategy (TYC) is an extremely well investigated biological control method for controlling invasive populations with an XX-XY sex determinism. In \cite{GP12, WP14} various dynamical properties of the system are analyzed, including well posedness, boundedness of solutions, and conditions for extinction or recovery. These results are derived under the assumption of positive solutions. In the current manuscript, we show that if the introduction rate of trojan fish is zero, under certain large data assumptions, negative solutions are possible for the male population, which in turn can lead to finite time blow-up in the female and male populations. A comparable result is established for \emph{any} positive initial condition if the introduction rate of trojan fish is large enough. Similar finite time blow-up results are obtained in a spatial temporal TYC model that includes diffusion. Lastly, we investigate improvements to the TYC modeling construct that may dampen the mechanisms to the blow-up phenomenon or remove the negativity of solutions. The results draw into suspect the reliability of current TYC models under certain situations.