Abstract
A spatial model is developed for the hunting of two endemic wild pig species, the babirusa and the Sulawesi wild pig, in the northern arm of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The spatial component of the model allows the influences of distance from the end market, road condition, and the distribution of vegetation types to be included into the model. These are all key determinants of the effects of hunting pressure on populations of these species. The model shows that under current economic conditions at equilibrium, the babirusa will be reduced to very small numbers in remote parts of the region, while the Sulawesi wild pig will be less badly affected. Under the conditions pertaining in the 1950s, before major road-building, the two species were much more widespread. The model is used to investigate the effects of various law-enforcement policies on hunting. It is shown that the best way to reduce hunting pressure on the babirusa is to enforce fines for the selling of babirusa meat in the end market. The model is also sensitive to changes in hunters’ opportunity costs, showing that if economic conditions in the region improved, the hunting rate would decrease substantially. This is a new application for coupled map lattice models, and one with great potential for the analysis of the population dynamics of other exploited species.
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