Spatio-temporal behaviour of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Mediterranean Sea: Development of a stochastic model for picophytoplankton dynamics

TL;DR

This study develops a stochastic reaction-diffusion-taxis model to analyze picophytoplankton dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea, capturing environmental fluctuations and matching observed data, with potential for broader ecological predictions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel stochastic model for picophytoplankton dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea, incorporating environmental noise and competition, validated with experimental data.

Findings

Model accurately reproduces observed phytoplankton distributions.

Environmental fluctuations significantly influence phytoplankton dynamics.

Framework can be extended to other sites and used for predictive modeling.

Abstract

In this paper, by using a stochastic reaction-diffusion-taxis model, we analyze the picophytoplankton dynamics in the basin of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by poorly mixed waters. The model includes intraspecific competition of picophytoplankton for light and nutrients. The multiplicative noise sources present in the model account for random fluctuations of environmental variables. Phytoplankton distributions obtained from the model show a good agreement with experimental data sampled in two different sites of the Sicily Channel. The results could be extended to analyze data collected in different sites of the Mediterranean Sea and to devise predictive models for phytoplankton dynamics in oligotrophic waters.