Marine Ecosystems

The marine realm is a complex system where biological, physical and chemical processes interact in a number of direct and indirect ways. We aim for a deeper understanding and advancement of numerical modelling of these interactions and their consequences for the marine biosphere .

Main content

Marine ecosystems are under increasing anthropogenic pressure both directly via disturbances from e.g. ship traffic or pollutions or, indirectly via CO2 increase and climate change. Hence, the development of models to combine these drivers and their impacts of cascading disturbances on the marine ecosystem is of high economical and ecological relevance.

We focus on different parts of the trophic cascade and on differently scaled processes. Our ongoing research interests can be divided into three major topics:
(i) Biogeochemical processes related to nutrient dynamics, primary (phytoplankton) and secondary (zooplankton) production, ocean acidification and air-sea carbon fluxes.
(ii) Processes important for vital rates of eggs, larvae and juveniles of higher trophic marine organisms (e.g. sprat, cod, brown shrimp) and the coupling between lower and higher trophic levels.
(iii) Transport and behaviour of small marine individuals in marine turbulent flows.

Biogeochemical cycles in regional ecosystems

Marine life starts with production of phytoplankton at the lower end of the food chain. We develop and utilize coupled biophysical models to simulate and understand environmental and long-term climatic impacts on the marine ecosystem.

Larvae growth and transport

Phyto- and zooplankton forms the basis for fish population dynamics. We developed and used a spatially-explicit larval fish IBM to understand interrelations between fish early life stages and their environment.

Small scale physical forcing on planktonic organisms

Transport and behaviour of small marine individuals

Particles and organisms in a fluid experience a majority of small-scale physical forces acting on their body. Those forces doesn’t necessarily act as a handicap, but can likewise promote the animals migration e.g. into nursery grounds.

01.10.2012