Learning-by-catching: uncertain invasive-species populations and the value of information |
| |
Authors: | D'Evelyn Sean T Tarui Nori Burnett Kimberly Roumasset James A |
| |
Institution: | aDepartment of Economics, University of Hawaii, 2424 Maile Way, 542 Saunders Hall, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA |
| |
Abstract: | This paper develops a model of invasive species control when the species’ population size is unknown. In the face of an uncertain population size, a resource manager's species-control efforts provide two potential benefits: (1) a direct benefit of possibly reducing the population of invasive species, and (2) an indirect benefit of information acquisition (due to learning about the population size, which reduces uncertainty). We provide a methodology that takes into account both of these benefits, and show how optimal management decisions are altered in the presence of the indirect benefit of learning. We then apply this methodology to the case of controlling the Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on the island of Saipan. We find that the indirect benefit—the value of information to reduce uncertainty—is likely to be quite large. |
| |
Keywords: | Invasive species Uncertain population Learning Value of information Brown Treesnake |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|