Seasonal dynamics of <I>Pseudocalanus minutus elongatus</I> and <I>Acartia spp.</I> in the southern Baltic Sea (Gdańsk Deep) – numerical simulations

A population dynamics model for copepods is presented describing a seasonal dynamics of Pseudocalanus minutus elongatus and Acartia spp. in the southern Baltic Sea (Gdansk Deep). The copepod model was coupled with an one-dimensional physical and biological upper layer model for nutrients (total inorganic nitrogen, phosphate), phytoplankton, microzooplankton and an early juvenile of herring as predator. In this model, mesozooplankton (herbivorous copepods) has been introduced as animals having definite patterns of growth in successive stages, reproduction and mortality. The populations are represented by 6 cohorts in different developmental stages, thus assuming, that recruitment of the next generation occurs after a fixed period of adult life. The copepod model links trophic processes and population dynamics, and simulates individual growth within cohorts and the changes in biomass between cohorts. The simulations of annual cycles of copepods contain one complete generation of Pseudocalanus and two generations of Acartia in the whole column water, and indicate the importance of growth of older stages of 6 cohorts each species to total population biomass. The peaks of copepods biomass, main, at the turn of June and July for Pseudocalanus and smaller, in July for Acartia, lag that phytoplankton by ca. two mouths due to growth of cohorts in successive stages and egg production by females. The numerical results show that the investigated species could not be the main factor limiting the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Gdansk Deep, because the initial development was slow for Acartia and faster for Pseudocalanus, but main development formed after the bloom, in both cases. However, the simulated microzooplankton biomass was enough high to conclude, in our opinion, that, in this case, it was major cause limiting phytoplankton bloom. Model presented here is a next step in understanding how the population dynamics of a dominant species in the southern Baltic Sea interact with the environment.