The impact of flow on plankton dynamics and diversity

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The dynamics of plankton assemblages have been widely studied at micro- and macro-scales due to their importance at the bottom of the marine food chain and exposure to anthropogenic factors (i.e. caused by human activity). More recently, such descriptions have been extended to tackle the so-called paradox of the plankton, the large number of co-located species observed that appear to compete for the same resources. This project will explore the impact of spatial structure on dynamical system models of interacting species, particularly focusing on recent descriptions of inhomogeneous systems brought on from spatial flow. The physiology of plankton, including physical properties (buoyancy; inertia) and biological biased motion (phototaxis; rheotaxis) will be considered, contingent on the challenges of describing such properties in a community context. The project is intended to highlight the strengths of a better synthesis of theoretical, physical and empirical branches of ecological models.