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We developed a model of honeybee colony foraging based on reaction – diffusion equations. Employed bees transmit information about their food sources using dance, and job seekers in the hive can choose any dance they like and thus join the exploitation of the corresponding source. We consider two strategies of dance selection: a targeted one, when bees analyze information on the dance floor and choose the most energetic and longest dance corresponding to the most profitable source, and a simple random choice of the first dance they encounter. Modelling showed that the greatest profit (food influx into the hive) is provided by the random choice of dance, as paradoxical as it may seem at first glance. Optimization of profit by each agent for itself (targeted choice of dances) is rather a disadvantage for the colony, and “non-optimality” in dance choice can be the result of useful evolutionary adaptation.

The article deals with the problem of a distributed system operation reliability. The system core is an open integration platform that provides interaction of varied software for modeling gas transportation. Some of them provide an access through thin clients on the cloud technology “software as a service”. Mathematical models of operation, transmission and computing are to ensure the operation of an automated dispatching system for oil and gas transportation. The paper presents a system solution based on the theory of Markov random processes and considers the stable operation stage. The stationary operation mode of the Markov chain with continuous time and discrete states is described by a system of Chapman–Kolmogorov equations with respect to the average numbers (mathematical expectations) of the objects in certain states. The objects of research are both system elements that are present in a large number – thin clients and computing modules, and individual ones – a server, a network manager (message broker). Together, they are interacting Markov random processes. The interaction is determined by the fact that the transition probabilities in one group of elements depend on the average numbers of other elements groups.

The authors propose a multi-criteria dispersion model of risk assessment for such systems (both in the broad and narrow sense, in accordance with the IEC standard). The risk is the standard deviation of estimated object parameter from its average value. The dispersion risk model makes possible to define optimality criteria and whole system functioning risks. In particular, for a thin client, the following is calculated: the loss profit risk, the total risk of losses due to non-productive element states, and the total risk of all system states losses.

Finally the paper proposes compromise schemes for solving the multi-criteria problem of choosing the optimal operation strategy based on the selected set of compromise criteria.

Based on the time-discrete model, we study the effect of selective proportional harvesting on the population dynamics with age and sex structure. When constructing the model, we assume that the population birth rate depends on the ratio of the sexes and the number of formed pairs. The regulation of population growth is carried out by limiting the juvenile’s survival when the survival of immature individuals decreases with an increase in the numbers of sex and age classes. We consider cases where the harvest is carried out only from a younger age class or from a group of mature females or males. We find that the harvesting of males or females at the optimal level is responsible for changing the ratio of females to males (taking into account the average size of the harem). We show that the maximum number of harvested males is achieved either at such a harvest rate when their excess number is withdrawn and the balance of sexes is established or at such an optimal catch quota at which the sex ratio is shifted towards breeding females. Optimal female harvesting, in which the highest number of them are taken, either maintains a preexisting shortage of adult males or leads to an excess of males or the fixing of a sex balance. We find that, depending on the population parameters for all considered harvesting strategies, the hydra effect can observe, i. e., the equilibrium size of the exploited sex and age-specific group (after reproduction) can increase with the growth of harvesting intensity. The selective harvesting, due to which the hydra effect occurs, simultaneously leads to an increase remaining population size and the number of harvested individuals. At the same time, the size of the exploited group after reproduction can become even more than without exploitation. Equilibrium harvesting with the optimal harvest rate that maximizes yield leads to a population size decrease. The effect of hydra is at lower values of the catch quota than the optimal harvest rate. At the same time, the consequence of the hydra effect may be a higher abundance of the age-sex group under optimal exploitation compared to the level observed in the absence of harvesting.

The problem of harvest optimization remains a central challenge in mathematical biology. The concept of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), widely used in optimal exploitation theory, proposes maintaining target populations at levels ensuring maximum reproduction, theoretically balancing economic benefits with resource conservation. While MSYbased management promotes population stability and system resilience, it faces significant limitations due to complex intrapopulation structures and nonlinear dynamics in exploited species. Of particular concern are the evolutionary consequences of harvesting, as artificial selection may drive changes divergent from natural selection pressures. Empirical evidence confirms that selective harvesting alters behavioral traits, reduces offspring quality, and modifies population gene pools. In contrast, the genetic impacts of non-selective harvesting remain poorly understood and require further investigation.

This study examines how non-selective harvesting with constant removal rates affects evolution in genetically heterogeneous populations. We model genetic diversity controlled by a single diallelic locus, where different genotypes dominate at high/low densities: r-strategists (high fecundity) versus K-strategists (resource-limited resilience). The classical ecological and genetic model with discrete time is considered. The model assumes that the fitness of each genotype linearly depends on the population size. By including the harvesting withdrawal coefficient, the model allows for linking the problem of optimizing harvest with the that of predicting genotype selection.

Analytical results demonstrate that under MSY harvesting the equilibrium genetic composition remains unchanged while population size halves. The type of genetic equilibrium may shift, as optimal harvest rates differ between equilibria. Natural K-strategist dominance may reverse toward r-strategists, whose high reproduction compensates for harvest losses. Critical harvesting thresholds triggering strategy shifts were identified.

These findings explain why exploited populations show slow recovery after harvesting cessation: exploitation reinforces adaptations beneficial under removal pressure but maladaptive in natural conditions. For instance, captive arctic foxes select for high-productivity genotypes, whereas wild populations favor lower-fecundity/higher-survival phenotypes. This underscores the necessity of incorporating genetic dynamics into sustainable harvesting management strategies, as MSY policies may inadvertently alter evolutionary trajectories through density-dependent selection processes. Recovery periods must account for genetic adaptation timescales in management frameworks.