Stability and optimal control for some classes of tritrophic systems

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Mathematical Biology
• Resource Management

Background:

• Tritrophic systems involving plants, herbivores, and humans are crucial in agro-pastoral settings.
• Understanding resource competition and flow dynamics is essential for effective management.
• Previous models often simplify human interactions within food webs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate optimal resource management strategies in three distinct tritrophic system models.
• To analyze the impact of human omnivory and resource partitioning on system dynamics.
• To apply Lotka-Volterra models using parameters from Sub-Saharan African agro-pastoral systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of Lotka-Volterra models for three classes of tritrophic systems.
• Analysis of linear food chains (plants-herbivores-humans).
• Modeling of omnivorous humans competing with herbivores and systems with partitioned resources.

Main Results:

• The study provides insights into the stability and dynamics of different tritrophic configurations.
• It highlights how resource partitioning can mitigate competition between humans and herbivores.
• Model parameters derived from Sub-Saharan Africa offer context-specific applicability.

Conclusions:

• Optimal resource management strategies vary significantly based on the trophic structure and human feeding behavior.
• Lotka-Volterra models are suitable for studying food-limited consumer dynamics in these systems.
• Findings contribute to sustainable management of agro-pastoral resources in the studied region.