The Influence of Reduced Light on Competing Zooplanktonic Populations – Inference from Mathematical Modeling and Field Data

  • Vanessa Irenze Department of Mathematics “Giuseppe Peano”, University of Torino, Italy
  • Marco Battuello Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy; Pelagosphera soc. Coop., via U. Cosmo 17bis, 10132 Torino, Italy
  • Rocco Mussat Sartor Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy; Pelagosphera soc. Coop., via U. Cosmo 17bis, 10132 Torino, Italy
  • Nicola Nurra Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy; Pelagosphera soc. Coop., via U. Cosmo 17bis, 10132 Torino, Italy
  • Ezio Venturino Department of Mathematics “Giuseppe Peano”, University of Torino, Italy; member of the INdAM research group GNCS, Italy
Keywords: Population dynamics, Competition, Diffusion, Light attenuation, Shading, Light absorption.

Abstract

A diffusion model for the competition of three zooplankton populations is developed, that is based on earlier ideas on reduced phytoplankton abundance at large depths in the ocean, due to light absorption in the higher water layersand shading by other upper residing microorganisms. Equilibria of the diffusion-free system are analysed. A sensitivity analysis in terms of some population interaction parameters that are difficult to assess is performed. Simulations of the space-dependent system reveal the

References

Aliani, S., Griffa, A., Molcard, A., 2003. Floating debris in the Ligurian Sea, northwestern Mediterranean. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46,1142–1149.

Irene Azzali, Andrew Morozov, Ezio Venturino, Exploring the role of vertical heterogeneity in the stabilization of planktonic ecosystems under eutrophication, J. of Biological Systems 45 (4) 715-741, 2017.

Battuello M., Brizio P., Mussat Sartor R., Nurra N., Pessani D., Abete M.C., Squadrone S., 2016. Zooplankton from North Western Mediterranean area as a model of metal transfer in a marine environment. Ecol. Ind., 66: 440-451.

Battuello M., Mussat Sartor R., Brizio P., Nurra N., Pessani D., Abete M.C., Squadrone S., 2017. The influence of feeding strategies on trace element bioaccumulation in copepods (Calanoida). Ecol. Ind., 74, 311-320.

Beaugrand, G., Reid, P.C., Ibanez F., Lindley, J. A., Edwards, M.,

Reorganization of North Atlantic marine copepod biodiversity and climate. Science 296, 1692-1694.

Benedetti F., Gasparini S., Ayata S.D., 2016. Identifying copepods functional groups from species functional traits. J. Plankton Res.,38(1): 159-166

Bollens, S.M., Frost, B.W., 1989. Predator-induced diel vertical migration in marine planktonic copepods. J. Plankton Res., 11: 1047-1065.

Boltovskoy, D., 1981. Atlas Del Atl`antico Sudoccidental Y m´etodos De Trabajo Con El Zooplankton Marino. In: Boltovskoy, D.(Ed.). INIDEP, Argentina, p. 935.

DeMott., W.R., 1988. Discrimination between algae and artificial particles by freshwater and marine copepods. Limnology and Oceanography, 33: 397-408.

Andrew M. Edwards, John Brindley, Zooplankton Mortality and the Dynamical Behaviour of Plankton Population Models, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Vol.61, 1999, pp.303–339.

Farkas JZ, Morozov AY, Arashkevich EG, Nikishina A, Revisiting the stability of spatially heterogeneous predator–prey systems under eutrophication, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 77 (10), 1886–1908, 2015.

Ekvall, M.T., Hylander, S., Walles, T., Yang, X., Hansson, L.A., 2015. Diel vertical migration, size distribution and photoprotection in zooplankton as response of UV-A radiation. Limnol. Oceanogr., 60:

-2058.

Hirai, J., Kuriyama, M., Ichikawa, T., Hidaka, K., Tsuda, A., 2015. A

metagenetic approach for revealing community structure of

marine planktonic copepods. Mol. Ecol. Res. 15, 68–80.

Krˇsini´c, F., Bojani´c, D., Precali, R., Kraus, R., 2007. Quantitative

variability of the copepod assemblages in the northern Adriatic Sea

from 1993 to 1997. Estuar. Coast. Shelf . 74, 528–538.

Kunz, T. J. and Diehl, S. 2003. Phytoplankton, light and nutrients

along a gradient of mixing depth: a field test of producer-resource

theory. Freshwat. Biol., 48, 1050–1063.

Longhurst, A.R., 1985. The structure and evolution of plankton

communities. Prog. Oceanogr. 15, 1–35.

Molinero, J.C., Ibanez, F., Nival, P., 2005a. North Atlantic climate

and northwestern plankton variability. Limnol. Oceanogr. 50 (4),1213–1220.

Modenutti, B.E., Wolinsky, L., Souza, M.S., Balseiro, M.G., 2018.

When eating a prey is risky: Implication for predator diel vertical

migration. Limnol. Oceanogr., 63: 939–950.

Molinero, J.C., Ibanez, F., Souissi, S., Chifflet, M., Nival, P., 2005b.

Phenological changes in the Northwestern Mediterranean

copepods Centropages typicus and Temora stylifera linked to climate forcing. Oecologia 145, 640–649.

Morozov A Yu., Arashkevich E., Nikishina A., Solovyev K., Nutrient

rich plankton communities stabilized via predator-prey

interactions: revisiting the role of vertical heterogeneity, Mathematical

Medicine and Biology 28(2): 185–215, 2011.

Nejstgaard J.C., Gismervik I., Solberg P.T., 1997. Feeding and

reproduction by Calanus finmarchicus, and microzooplankton grazing

during mesocosm blooms of diatoms and coccolithophore Emiliana Huxley. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 147: 197–217

Ohman M.D. and Runge J.A., 1994. Sustained fecundity when

phytoplankton resources are in short supply: omnivory by Calanus

finmarchicus in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Limnon. Oceanogr., 13(1):

–36

Poulet S.A., 1983. Factors controlling utilization of non-algal diets

by particle-grazing copepods. A review. Oceanol. Acta, 6(3)221–234

Richardson, A.J., 2008. In hot water: zooplankton and climate

change. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 65, 279–295.

Alexei B. Ryabov, Lars Rudolf, Bernd Blasiu, Vertical distribution

and composition of phytoplankton under the influence of an upper

mixed layer,Journal of Theoretical Biology, Vol. 263, 2010, pp. 120-133.

Sanders, R.W.,Wickham, S.A., 1993. Planktonic protozoa and

metazoa: predation, food quality and population control. Mar. Microb.

Food Webs 7, 197–223.

Published
2019-08-17
How to Cite
Irenze, V., Battuello, M., Sartor, R. M., Nurra, N., & Venturino, E. (2019). The Influence of Reduced Light on Competing Zooplanktonic Populations – Inference from Mathematical Modeling and Field Data. Statistics, Optimization & Information Computing, 7(3), 558-577. https://doi.org/10.19139/soic.v7i3.832
Section
Research Articles