GMSE: an R package for generalised management strategy evaluation

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is a powerful tool for simulating all key aspects of natural resource management under conditions of uncertainty. We present the R package GMSE, which applies genetic algorithms to provide a generalised tool for simulating adaptive decision-making management scenarios between stakeholders with competing objectives under complex social-ecological interactions and uncertainty. GMSE models can be agent-based and spatially explicit, incorporating a high degree of realism through mechanistic modelling of links and feedbacks among stakeholders and with the ecosystem; additionally, user-defined sub-models can also be incorporated as functions into the broader GMSE framework. We show how GMSE simulates a social-ecological system using the example of an adaptively managed waterfowl population on an agricultural landscape; simulated waterfowl exploit agricultural land, causing conflict between conservation interests and the interest of food producers maximising their crop yield. The R package GMSE is open source under GNU Public License; source code and documents are freely available on GitHub.