Discrete Modeling of Dynamics of Zooplankton Community at the Different Stages of an Antropogeneous Eutrophication

Mathematical modeling is a convenient way for characterization of complex ecosystems. This approach was applied to study the dynamics of zooplankton in Lake Sevan (Armenia) at different stages of anthropogenic eutrophication with the use of a novel method called discrete modeling of dynamical system...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta biotheoretica 2013-12, Vol.61 (4), p.449-465
Main Authors: Zholtkevych, G. N., Bespalov, G. Yu, Nosov, K. V., Abhishek, Mahalakshmi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Armenia
Computer Simulation
Daphnia
Daphnia longispina
Ecosystem
Education
Eutrophication
Evolutionary Biology
Freshwater
Lakes
Models, Theoretical
Original Article
Philosophy
Philosophy of Biology
Zooplankton - growth & development
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Summary:Mathematical modeling is a convenient way for characterization of complex ecosystems. This approach was applied to study the dynamics of zooplankton in Lake Sevan (Armenia) at different stages of anthropogenic eutrophication with the use of a novel method called discrete modeling of dynamical systems with feedback (DMDS). Simulation demonstrated that the application of this method helps in characterization of inter- and intra-component relationships in a natural ecosystem. This method describes all possible pairwise inter-component relationships like “plus–plus,” “minus–minus,” “plus–minus,” “plus–zero,” “minus–zero,” and “zero–zero” that occur in most ecosystems. Based on the results, a working hypothesis was formulated. It was found that the sensitivity to weak external influence in zooplanktons was the greatest during the mid period of eutrophication in Lake Sevan, whereas in the final stages of eutrophication, an outbreak in the biomass production of cyanobacteria was evident. To support this approach, a weak external disturbance in the form of magnetic storm was used to see its effect on species Daphnia longispina sevanica . A statistically significant correlation between the frequency of magnetic storms and the number of this species was revealed and an increase in the number of toxic cyanobacteria species as a consequence of eutrophication. This paper, for the first time, suggests a DMDS method, to diagnose impact of anthropogenic eutrophication on environment.
ISSN:0001-5342
1572-8358
DOI:10.1007/s10441-013-9184-6