title: On the dynamics of a generalized predator-prey system with Z-type control.
abstract: We apply the Z-control approach to a generalized predator-prey system and consider the specific case of indirect control of the prey population. We derive the associated Z-controlled model and investigate its properties from the point of view of the dynamical systems theory. The key role of the design parameter λ for the successful application of the method is stressed and related to specific dynamical properties of the Z-controlled model. Critical values of the design parameter are also found, delimiting the λ-range for the effectiveness of the Z-method. Analytical results are then numerically validated by the means of two ecological models: the classical Lotka-Volterra model and a model related to a case study of the wolf-wild boar dynamics in the Alta Murgia National Park. Investigations on these models also highlight how the Z-control method acts in respect to different dynamical regimes of the uncontrolled model.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell'Informazione, Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, via Di Biasio, Cassino I-03043, Italy.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lacitignola
authors.affiliation: Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo M. Picone, CNR, Via Amendola 122, Bari I-70126, Italy. Electronic address: f.diele@ba.iac.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Fasma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diele
authors.affiliation: Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo M. Picone, CNR, Via Amendola 122, Bari I-70126, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marangi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, Pisa I-56124, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Provenzale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020387:Food Chain; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: Conservation ecology; Ecosystem modeling; Nonlinear dynamics; Numerical simulations; Population dynamics; Z-type control