| The three papers of this dissertation embrace interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving in Conservation Biology. The first paper, A Comparison of Alternative Strategies for Cost Effective Water Quality Management in Lakes , examines whether septic system improvements or riparian buffer strips are the more cost effective strategy to improve lake water clarity in Minnesota. The paper is a response to the often used but incomplete approach to mitigating declining water quality of identifying the major sources of phosphorus. This addresses only half the problem because identifying pollution sources still does not tell us what the appropriate policy response should be. The paper couples a traditional water quality model with an economic model and in turn offers a more policy relevant analysis. For a large majority of lakes, buffer strips are the more cost effective strategy to achieve a given water clarity goal.; The second paper, Group Hug for Lakes: The Determinants and Efficacy of Social Capital in Minnesota Lake Associations is based on survey work of roughly 500 lake associations in Minnesota. Using regression analysis, I explain the determinants of participation rates by lakeshore residents in lake associations. Then, using participation rates as a proxy for social capital, I provide some evidence that increased social capital is associated with better water clarity. Thus, not only bio-physical but institutional factors affect lake water clarity.; The third paper, Adaptive Harvesting in a Multiple Species, Multiple Use Coral Reef Ecosystem, adopts a unique approach to bio-economic harvest modeling by examining at the effects of harvesting at two trophic levels in a coral reef ecosystem by adaptive rather than optimizing agents. Modeling human behavior as adaptive is not only more realistic but also places people in a more interactive role with their environment. The results indicate that the dynamics of the ecological system are very sensitive to economic and biological parameter values, exhibit threshold effects, and are determined by initial conditions. As compared to traditional, single-species, optimization harvest models, the model presented offers some counterintuitive results and a richer set of policy alternatives to managing coral reef ecosystems. |
