Analysis of the complicated dynamics of some harvesting models (Q1114626)

The authors are motivated by a two-parameter harvesting model, consisting of iterations of the function \(f_{m,d}:\quad I_ d\to I_ d\) where \(0\leq m\leq 4+4d\leq 6\), \(I_ d\) is the interval \([0,1+d]\) and \[ f_{m,d}(x)=m x(1-m)\quad if\quad 0\leq x\leq d,\quad and\quad m=m(x- d)(1+d-x)\quad if\quad d<x\leq 1+d. \] After mentioning some numerical work, they move to a theoretical study of a class W of functions \(F: {\mathbb{R}}_+\to {\mathbb{R}}_+,\) each of which has just one discontinuity d and critical point \(c>d\) and satisfying 5 axioms, listed as: A1: \(F(0)=0=\lim_{x\to \infty}F(x);\) A2: At d, F increases to F(d) from below, and decreases to 0 from above; A3: On the intervals [0,d], (d,c], F is strictly increasing but strictly decreasing on [c,\(\infty);\) A4: \(F''\) is continuous except at d. The authors then modify Smale's Axiom A property to an approximate version A5 for functions in W, which is too complicated to state here. Now suppose \(F\in W\), that F satisfies A5, and F(d) does not lie in the non-wandering set \(\Omega\) (F). Then the following theorems are proved. Theorem 1: There exists an integer \(p>0\) such that almost every initial value is asymptotically periodic with period p. Hence the set of aperiodic points has measure 0. Theorem 2: \(\Omega\) (F) can be decomposed into finitely many positively F-invariant compact sets, on each of which F has a dense orbit. Theorem 3: There exists a square matrix A with entries 0 or 1 such that for each n, F has p(n) points of period n, where \(p(n)=trace\) \(A^ n.\) Theorem 4: (Stability) In W, F has a neighbourhood U of functions g satisfying A5, and for which the action of g on \(\Omega\) (g) is conjugate to that of F on \(\Omega\) (F). The authors' Theorem 5 then gives a criterion, in terms of the Schwarzian derivative, for \(f\in W\) to satisfy A5 and to have f(d)\(\not\in \Omega (f)\). Finally, they consider models with the `Allee effect', i.e. for which there is a threshold value T such that if the population drops below T then it cannot survive. These models involve functions described by six axioms analogous to A1-A4, and the authors prove that such functions f satisfy A5, and f(d)\(\not\in \Omega (f).\) There are then numbers \(t<d\), \(u>c\) with \(f(u)=f(t)=t\), such that (1) if \(f(c)>u\) then the population x(t) survives only with propability 0, while (2) if \(t<x(0)\leq f(c)<u\) then x(t) fluctuates in a regular manner, with probability 1. This interesting paper also contains several counterexamples, and remarks on related work.