Modelling the impact of zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton biomass during a dinoflagellate bloom in the Swan River Estuary, Western Australia

Abstract

Ingestion rates of zooplankton were measured in the Swan River Estuary and in the laboratory. These data were used together with data from the literature on phytoplankton and zooplankton physiological parameters, to provide input data to a model of phytoplankton and zooplankton dynamics in the Swan River Estuary. The model also used measured environmental data (nutrient concentrations, light, water temperature and salinity) to simulate phytoplankton biomass (differentiated as four groups) and zooplankton biomass (differentiated as three size classes) at a site in the Swan River Estuary. Zooplankton grazing was shown to be highly important in attenuating a dinoflagellate bloom that occurred over a 3-week model simulation period.