Stochastic optimal and time-optimal control studies for additional food provided prey–predator systems involving Holling type III functional response

Abstract

Abstract This article consists of a detailed and novel stochastic optimal control analysis of a coupled non-linear dynamical system. The state equations are modelled as an additional food-provided prey–predator system with Holling type III functional response for predator and intra-specific competition among predators. We first discuss the optimal control problem as a Lagrangian problem with a linear quadratic control. Second, we consider an optimal control problem in the time-optimal control setting. We initially establish the existence of optimal controls for both these problems and later characterize these optimal controls using the Stochastic maximum principle. Further numerical simulations are performed based on stochastic forward-backward sweep methods for realizing the theoretical findings. The results obtained in these optimal control problems are discussed in the context of biological conservation and pest management.