Resolving the value of information paradox for ecological management (2025-2028)
Abstract
Globally, we spend $133 billion per year on environmental management. Half of this money goes towards data collection and research. Clearly, ecologists and managers widely agree that new information is critical for improving decisions. However, surprisingly, the application of mathematics to ecological management regularly suggests we spend too much on research. This wide disagreement between mathematical theory and ecological expertise forms a long-standing paradox in mathematical ecology. The project aims to resolve this paradox by deriving new theory for quantifying the value of information across systems and solving new problems that violate traditional mathematical assumptions in fisheries, outbreak management, and conservation.
