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.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/106966 |
Date | January 2016 |
Creators | Moberg, Emily Alison |
Contributors | Michael 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. |
Publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Source Sets | M.I.T. Theses and Dissertation |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis |
Format | 169 pages, application/pdf |
Rights | MIT 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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