STOCHASTIC DYNAMICS OF TWO PICOPHYTOPLANKTON POPULATIONS IN A REAL MARINE ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

A stochastic reaction-diffusion-taxis model is analyzed to get the stationary distribution along water column of two species of picophytoplankton, that is picoeukaryotes and Prochlorococcus. The model is valid for weakly mixed waters, typical of the Mediterranean Sea. External random fluctuations are considered by adding a multiplicative Gaussian noise to the dynamical equation of the nutrient concentration. The statistical tests show that shape and magnitude of the theoretical concentration profile exhibit a good agreement with the experimental findings. Finally, we study the effects of seasonal variations on picophytoplankton groups, including an oscillating term in the auxiliary equation for the light intensity.