On the Optimal Size for Exploited Natural Animal Populations

Abstract

This paper considers natural animal populations whose members are harvested for their own value, either esthetic or monetary. At the time of the harvest, population members are assumed to be indistinguishable as to sex. Revenue and cost structures are defined for these populations as they relate to the ecosystem. A stochastic description of population growth is used in which a change in the distribution of the growth parameter is described by an associated Markovian distribution process. This associated process describes the changes in environmental conditions. A harvesting policy is described in terms of an optimal population size. This policy maximizes the expected economic gain to be realized for the duration of time over which management of the system is anticipated.