Gender‐Based Harvesting in Wildlife Disease Management

Abstract

Wildlife disease management strategies traditionally focus on lowering aggregate host density below a host‐density threshold, reducing infectious contacts (when transmission is density‐dependent) to reduce prevalence. The focus on aggregate host density is because controls such as harvests are typically nonselective with respect to disease status. Such nontargeted strategies increase control costs and may not optimally lead to eradication. We consider targeting an observable trait correlated with infection—gender. Two endogenous host‐density thresholds emerge, in contrast to the exogenous thresholds arising in the ecological literature on multiple‐host‐pathogen problems. The ability to manage these thresholds reduces control costs and makes eradication optimal.

Keywords: bioeconomics, bovine tuberculosis, epidemiology, host-density threshold, targeting, white-tailed deer