Consideration of Type III Holling Predation in Harmful Algal Blooms
Faculty Sponsor
Richard Cangelosi, Gonzaga University
Research Project Abstract
Algal blooms have become an increasingly regular occurrence in coastal ocean regions. The most important factors in determining if these blooms occur are the seasonal processes of coastal upwelling, river flow, and human fertilizer runoff. The cyclical nature of plankton populations due to nutrient availability results in interesting dynamics within the affected marine ecosystems. Furthermore, some species of phytoplankton have evolved a mechanism for producing toxins that limit predation by predatory zooplankton: a phenomenon that complicates the dynamics further. This particular kind of phytoplankton growth is called a harmful algal bloom (HAB). In 2002, a Holling type II model was proposed by J. Chattopadhyay and R.R. Sarkar to understand HABs in the Bay of Bengal. In this paper, I will consider the dynamics that result from assuming a Holling type III model for predation of phytoplankton by zooplankton instead of a type II model.
Session Number
SS1A
Location
Robinson 310
Abstract Number
SS1A-b
Consideration of Type III Holling Predation in Harmful Algal Blooms
Robinson 310
Algal blooms have become an increasingly regular occurrence in coastal ocean regions. The most important factors in determining if these blooms occur are the seasonal processes of coastal upwelling, river flow, and human fertilizer runoff. The cyclical nature of plankton populations due to nutrient availability results in interesting dynamics within the affected marine ecosystems. Furthermore, some species of phytoplankton have evolved a mechanism for producing toxins that limit predation by predatory zooplankton: a phenomenon that complicates the dynamics further. This particular kind of phytoplankton growth is called a harmful algal bloom (HAB). In 2002, a Holling type II model was proposed by J. Chattopadhyay and R.R. Sarkar to understand HABs in the Bay of Bengal. In this paper, I will consider the dynamics that result from assuming a Holling type III model for predation of phytoplankton by zooplankton instead of a type II model.
