Natural Resource Modeling, Wiley’s Open Access journal devoted to mathematical modeling of natural resource systems, has just published a special issue on Selected papers from the AMS Special Session on Modeling Natural Resources at the Joint Mathematics Meetings 2019 & 2020. The special issue was edited by Suzanne Robertson and Julie Blackwood. All of the articles in the special issue are now available to read here. A portion of the editorial by Professor Blackwood and a list of the articles in the special issue are included below. 

For nearly a decade, editors of Natural Resource Modeling have organized special sessions as part of the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). The JMM is an annual conference that brings together thousands of mathematicians and provides an excellent venue to showcase research in natural resource modeling. The idea for this special issue emerged after talks given at the JMM held in Baltimore, Maryland in January 2019 as well as the JMM held in Denver, Colorado in January 2020 as part of such special sessions.

The collection of articles in this special issue highlight the breadth of research topics that fall under the umbrella of natural resource modeling. Within this issue, readers will learn about optimal harvest times that, for example, maximize stock and yield while minimizing costs. Another article investigates the management of fungal pathogens affecting bats. Readers will also learn about modern issues related to predator–prey and host–parasitoid–hyperparasitoid systems as well as synchrony and cannibalism. Strategies for individuals to achieve computational fluency, often a central component of research in resource modeling, is explored.

Management efficacy in a metapopulation model of white-nose syndrome by Junyan Duan, Mykhaylo M. Malakhov, Jordan J. Pellett, Ishan S. Phadke, Jackson Barber, and Julie C. Blackwood.

Paths to computational fluency for natural resource educators, researchers, and managers by Richard A. Erickson, Jessica L. Burnett, Mark T. Wiltermuth, Edward A. Bulliner, Leslie Hsu.

Frequency-dependent evolution in a predator–prey system by Azmy S. Ackleh and Amy Veprauskas.

Optimal control of harvest timing in discrete population models by Skylar Grey, Suzanne Lenhart, Frank M. Hilker, and Daniel Franco.

The effects of allelochemical transfer on the dynamics of hosts, parasitoids, and competing hyperparasitoids by Mark P. Zimmerman, David M. Chan, Karen M. Kester, Rosalyn C. Rael, and Suzanne L. Robertson

Coexistence and harvesting optimal policy in three species food chain model with general Holling type functional response by Mohammed Y. Dawed and Kiros G. Kebedow.

Taxing interacting externalities of ocean acidification, global warming, and eutrophication by Martin C. Hänsel and Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh.

Cannibalism and synchrony in seabird egg-laying behaviorby Yosia I. Nurhan and Shandelle M. Henson.

A methodological framework for the hydrological model selection process in water resource management projects by Diba Ghonchepour, Amir Sadoddin, Abdolreza Bahremand, Barry Croke, Anthony Jakeman, and Abdolrassoul Salmanmahiny.