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Optimal Management Of Beaver Population Using A Reduced-Order Distributed Parameter Model And Single Network Adaptive Critics, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Beavers are often found to be in conflict with human interests by creating nuisances like building dams on flowing water (leading to flooding), blocking irrigation canals, cutting down timbers, etc. At the same time they contribute to raising water tables, increased vegetation, etc. Consequently, maintaining an optimal beaver population is beneficial. Because of their diffusion externality (due to migratory nature), strategies based on lumped parameter models are often ineffective. Using a distributed parameter model for beaver population that accounts for their spatial and temporal behavior, an optimal control (trapping) strategy is presented in this paper that leads to a desired …