Article ID: | iaor2000860 |
Country: | United States |
Volume: | 56 |
Issue: | 1 |
Start Page Number: | 107 |
End Page Number: | 127 |
Publication Date: | Jan 1994 |
Journal: | Bulletin of Mathematical Biology |
Authors: | Tuck G.N., Possingham H.P. |
Keywords: | biology, programming: dynamic |
We consider optimal strategies for harvesting a population that is composed of two local populations. Thw local populations are connected by the dispersal of juveniles, e.g. larvae, and together form a metapopulation. We model the metapopulation dynamics using coupled difference equations. Dynamic programming is used to determine policies for exploitation that are economically optimal. The metapopulation harvesting theory is applied to a hypothetical fishery and optimal strategies are compared to harvesting strategies that assume the metapopulation is composed either of single unconnected populations or of one well-mixed population. Local populations that have high per capita larval production should be more conservatively harvested than would be predicted using conventional theory. Recognizing the metapopulation structure of a stock and using the appropriate theory can significantly improve economic gains.