A Mathematical Model for Light and Nutrient Modulated Multi Species Competitive Phytoplankton Growth in a Water Column Under the Influence of Benthic Grazing and Nutrient Forcing
Mentor 1
Istvan Lauko
Mentor 2
Gabriella Pinter
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
29-4-2016 1:30 PM
End Date
29-4-2016 3:30 PM
Description
It is well documented that the recent colonization of Lake Michigan by dreissenid bivalves lead to a dramatic reconfiguration of the lake’s ecosystem. These changes resulted in benthification, which is a transport of a substantial part of the ecosystem’s biomass to the bottom of the lake's water. While various datasets support this observation, a quantitative evaluation of overall ecosystem productivity, its spatial distribution and its effects on the dynamics of the lake ecosystem is not fully understood. The formulation, parametrization and numerical solution of mathematical models representing the major components of the altered lake ecology could help the understanding and quantitative evaluation of the new ecological dynamics. We present a detailed formulation of a simplified mathematical model, as well as a method for its numerical solution, that takes into account the competition among primary producer species for the varying light and two different nitrogenous nutrient sources in the pelagic, as well as the impact of the grazing and nutrient recycling by a substantial and changing dreissenid mussel population in the benthos.
A Mathematical Model for Light and Nutrient Modulated Multi Species Competitive Phytoplankton Growth in a Water Column Under the Influence of Benthic Grazing and Nutrient Forcing
Union Wisconsin Room
It is well documented that the recent colonization of Lake Michigan by dreissenid bivalves lead to a dramatic reconfiguration of the lake’s ecosystem. These changes resulted in benthification, which is a transport of a substantial part of the ecosystem’s biomass to the bottom of the lake's water. While various datasets support this observation, a quantitative evaluation of overall ecosystem productivity, its spatial distribution and its effects on the dynamics of the lake ecosystem is not fully understood. The formulation, parametrization and numerical solution of mathematical models representing the major components of the altered lake ecology could help the understanding and quantitative evaluation of the new ecological dynamics. We present a detailed formulation of a simplified mathematical model, as well as a method for its numerical solution, that takes into account the competition among primary producer species for the varying light and two different nitrogenous nutrient sources in the pelagic, as well as the impact of the grazing and nutrient recycling by a substantial and changing dreissenid mussel population in the benthos.
