Metapopulation dynamics and stochastic bioeconomic modeling

We analyze the implications of metapopulation dynamics for optimal harvesti ng of stochastically fluctuating local subpopulations of a species. The eff ect of migrating individuals on harvest is twoford: a migration effect capt ures the possibility for 'steering' net migration flows toward the more val uable local population, while a risk term captures the possibility that sto chastic fluctuations in different local subpopulations may not be independe nt. The sign of both effects is analytically ambiguous, implying that harve st intensity can both decrease and increase compared to the conventional, s ingle-population benchmark. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reser ved.