Spatial control of invasive species in conservation landscapes

Abstract

Areas of high conservation value are often baited with poison to reduce the density of invasive predators, and consequentially reduce the impact on native animals. Poison baits are typically distributed uniformly across a landscape, but there has been no work to determine if this is a cost-effective way to protect endangered species. We consider a small, high-value conservation asset within a broader landscape that is baited to control invasive predators. The predator density in the baited region is modelled with a reaction-diffusion equation, and we use optimal control theory to solve for the long term baiting strategy which minimises the predator density at the conservation asset. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.