Nutrient, Non-toxic Phytoplankton, Toxic Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Interaction in an Open Marine System

Abstract

In this paper we propose a mathematical model for the interaction of nutrient, non-toxic phytoplankton, toxic phytoplankton and their predator zooplankton population in an open marine system. For a realistic representation of the open marine plankton ecosystem, we have incorporated various natural phenomena such as spatial flow, nutrient recycling, toxin effects, inter-species competition and grazing at a higher level. Nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions are observed to be very complex and situation specific. Different exciting results, ranging from stable situation to cyclic blooms or monospecies bloom, may occur under different favourable conditions, which may give some insights for predictive management.