SYMP 8
Pretty Darn Good Control of Noisy, Uncertain, and Dynamic Ecological Systems
Tuesday, August 12, 2014: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Gardenia, Sheraton Hotel
Organizer:
Megan J. Donahue, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
Co-organizers:
Paul R. Armsworth, University of Tennessee; and
Alan Hastings, University of California, Davis
Moderator:
Carl Toews, University of Puget Sound
Ecologists have drawn on a body of mathematics known as optimal control theory to study both the evolution of life history strategies and the management of ecosystems. However, traditional optimal control theory requires that researchers assume away the noisy, uncertain, and highly dynamic nature of ecosystems. Moreover, the approach often yields cartoonish recommendations about optimal life history strategies or ecosystem management strategies that are simply implausible for implementation by organisms or natural resource managers.
This symposium will present an alternative approach to optimal control that embraces the complexity that characterizes ecosystems and the limitations on plausible strategy sets without sacrificing the original drive towards optimality. We term this approach Pretty Darn Good Control. After an overview of this approach by our first speaker, the remaining speakers will illustrate Pretty Darn Good Control ideas through applications to the life history of coral reef fishes and marine ecosystem management. Through these applications, speakers will cover topics related to optimization under model and parameter uncertainty and costly controls.
1:30 PM
Overview: Pretty darn good control of ecological systems
Paul R. Armsworth, University of Tennessee;
Michael Bode, University of Melbourne;
Carl Boettiger, UC Berkeley;
Iadine Chades, CSIRO;
Megan J. Donahue, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology;
Alan Hastings, University of California, Davis;
Mandy A. Karnauskas, Southeast Fisheries Science Center;
Jacob LaRiviere, University of Tennessee;
Claire Paris, University of Miami;
Daniel Ryan, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis;
James N. Sanchirico, University of California-Davis;
Carl Toews, University of Puget Sound
3:10 PM
Fisheries management when quotas are costly to change
Carl Boettiger, UC Berkeley;
Michael Bode, University of Melbourne;
James N. Sanchirico, University of California-Davis;
Jacob LaRiviere, University of Tennessee;
Alan Hastings, University of California, Davis;
Paul R. Armsworth, University of Tennessee
