Marine plankton ecology models: a review

Authors

  • Jordi Solé i Ollé Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC.

Abstract

During the last decades, the use of models for ecological marine plankton research has become more common and necessary. Models are currently a key element in research, both in the study of biological processes or in physical- biological interactions, as well as in making predictions or estimates of chlorophyll or marine primary production during certain time periods in selected areas. Models are also indispensable tools to efficiently manage the anthropogenic impacts or climate change effects in ecosystems. A possible classification of the models used in plankton ecology is to divide them between mechanistic models and statistical or empirical models. In this work, a brief review of the main contributions in the modelling of planktonic ecosystems is taken into account, using this classification it is explained the pros and cons of each of these types of models and some examples are given. Then, the main current issues in modelling research and future development of the model are presented. From such issues, the challenges that must face models and modellers in order to advance in modelling research, not only in the ecology of plankton, but also in the physical-biological environmental models, are finally outlined.

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