Harvesting in Matrix Population Models

Under favourable conditions, natural animal populations have a tendency to increase in numbers. It is, however, possible to remove some animals and maintain a constant population size. If the population is divided into groups by age or stage in the life cycle, different proportions of the various gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biometrics 1975-03, Vol.31 (1), p.189-200
Main Author: Doubleday, W. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Age structure
Biometrics
Crop harvesting
Linear programming
Mathematical vectors
Matrices
Population growth
Population size
Population structure
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Summary:Under favourable conditions, natural animal populations have a tendency to increase in numbers. It is, however, possible to remove some animals and maintain a constant population size. If the population is divided into groups by age or stage in the life cycle, different proportions of the various groups can be harvested. This paper examines the problem of removing the maximum harvest in terms of number of animals or biomass or any linear combination of the proportions harvested from the separate groups, subject to the conditions that a fixed population size and age structure be maintained after every time interval. Harvesting before and after reproduction and seasonal variation in vital rates are considered. Also, some attention is given to the problem of maximizing a fisheries yield where nets of fixed mesh size take a constant proportion of all individuals larger and no individuals smaller than a certain minimum size.
ISSN:0006-341X
1541-0420
DOI:10.2307/2529719