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Optimal bioeconomic management of changing marine resources

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Marine populations are increasingly subjected to changing conditions whether through harvest or through broad-scale habitat change. Historically, few models have accounted for such trends over time, and even fewer have been used to study how trends affect optimal harvests. I developed and analyzed several models that explore, first, endogenous change caused by harvest and, second, exogenous change from factors (such as rising ocean temperatures) outside harvesters' control. In these models, I characterized the profit-or yield-maximizing strategy when harvesting damages habitat in a multispecies fishery, when harvest creates a selective pressure on dispersal, and when rising temperatures cause changes in vital rates. I explore this last case in both deterministic and stochastic environments, and also allow the harvester to learn about unknown parameters of the stock recruitment model while harvesting. I also develop an unambiguous definition of and describe a statistical test for a shift in a species' spatial distribution. My results demonstrate that optimal harvesting strategies in a changing environment differ in important ways from optimal strategies in a constant environment. / by Emily Alison Moberg. / Ph. D.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/106966
Date January 2016
CreatorsMoberg, Emily Alison
ContributorsMichael G. Neubert., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
PublisherMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Source SetsM.I.T. Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format169 pages, application/pdf
RightsMIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

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