Research Repository :: Browsing by Author "Sagamiko, Thadei"

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Effects of over-harvesting and drought on a predator-prey system with optimal control
(Open Journal of Ecology, 2018-08-31) Mapunda, Alanus; Mureithi, Eunice; Nyimvua, Shaban; Sagamiko, Thadei
In this paper, a two species predator-prey model is developed where prey is affected by over-harvesting and drought and predator is affected by drought. The intention is to investigate the impact of over-harvesting and drought on predator-prey system, and suggest control strategies to alleviate the problem of loss of prey and predator species due to over-harvesting and drought. The control strategies suggested are creation of reserve areas with restriction of harvesting for controlling over-harvesting and construction of dams for mitigating drought effects. The results obtained from theoretical and numerical simulation of the predator-prey model with harvesting and drought without control strategies showed that, both harvesting and drought affect the predator- prey population negatively. However, the results obtained from numerical simulations of the model with control measures showed that, the use of control strategies one at a time encourages the increase of the prey and predator species to the optimal population size. Furthermore, the best result is obtained when control strategies, creation of reserve areas with restriction of harvesting and construction of dams are applied simultaneously.