GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ECOLOGICAL MODEL IN PRACTICAL USE----AN ALTERNATIVE POPULATION DYNAMICS MODELFOR INTERACTING SPECIES AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN RESOURCE ECONOMICS

The research presented in this dissertation is guided by the question of how to improve the General Equilibrium Ecological Model (GEEM) as a realistic population model, and how to incorporate GEEM in a dynamic resource management model. The first part of this dissertation (Chapter 2) extends GEEM from an 8 to a 13-species marine system with multiple predator-prey relations, and provides simulations of the ecosystem dynamics under various influences, especially human activities. Functional and numerical responses in GEEM as a population model are also derived and discussed. The second part of the dissertation (Chapter 3 and 4) addresses the application of GEEM in economic models, including deriving a reduced form of GEEM (R-GEEM) so that the variables from GEEM can be easily integrated with the economic model, and applying R-GEEM to dynamic optimization problems with multiple species harvesting and endangered species protection plans