A Multiple Species Bioeconomic Computable General

1,16
MB Equilibrium Model

71
stron

6594
ID University of Central Florida

2003
rok

Abstract

Because commercially valuable species are in interdependent relationships with many species

sharing their habitat, understanding ecological relationships is an important part of designing

renewable resource policies. Equally important is to understand how these policies impact human

activity, and how this activity affects species in the ecosystem. This paper offers a new integrated

ecological/economic model that can track both ecological relationships and human activities. Based

on individual behavior directing aggregate outcomes, the approach allows for multiple species in

complex food webs. The ecosystem model is combined with a general equilibrium model of an

economy, providing a tight integration of economic and ecological models. The combined model is

applied to Alaska and a commercially important eight species marine ecosystem that contains

harvested fish and endangered Steller sea lions. Results illustrate that when humans intentionally

interact with ecosystems there are often unintended consequences. Termed ecosystem

externalities, the model demonstrates how these externalities can be measured.