Harvesting spatially distributed populations

Abstract

Spatial structure has a paramount influence on population dynamics. This has until recently been neglected in harvesting theory. In this paper, we demonstrate how source-sink and habitat selection theory can provide guidance for harvesting spatially structured populations. We also show how harvesting can affect the spatial distribution of the exploited resource, which has consequences for the design of protected areas. This implicit treatment of space is complemented by a spatially explicit predator-prey model. It turns out that harvesting of the prey and/or the predator species in one patch in space sometimes has effects on the other species outside the harvested patch. We stress the importance of considering how realistic the representation of the spatial dimension has to be in population management.