The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Viral infection as a regulator of oceanic phytoplankton populations

Viral infection as a regulator of oceanic phytoplankton populations
Viral infection as a regulator of oceanic phytoplankton populations
Viruses are the most abundant organism in seawater across all the world's oceans. Though they are believed to be capable of infecting all phytoplankton species their role in regulating plankton population levels is not well understood. In order to gain an understanding of the potential influence of viruses on phytoplankton population dynamics, particularly ‘blooms’, two plankton ecosystem models with explicit representation of viruses and virally infected phytoplankton are presented, and an initial investigation into their range of behaviours explored. The models are extensions of well-established plankton ecosystem models that now permit the possibility of viral infection and mortality of phytoplankton. Ecological and epidemiological parameters from a number of sources are used to furnish the models. The models are shown to be capable of capturing known features of phytoplankton population dynamics in the presence of viruses: viruses can stably co-exist in the plankton ecosystem without the need to invoke other stabilising processes, and infection can serve to suppress primary production and phytoplankton abundance whilst boosting nutrient levels. Intuitively, viral infection will be most effective when phytoplankton is high. We therefore use the two models to investigate the influence of viral infection on ‘blooms’ in two independent ways: first with a seasonally-forced variability and second with a triggered transient event. It is demonstrated that the impact of viruses can be very noticeable during episodes of enhanced phytoplankton density found during ’blooms’. Viruses serve to attenuate the intensity and duration of these transient events in a manner consistent with observations.
Phytoplankton, Epidemic modelling, Predator–prey modelling, Zooplankton, Viral infection, Ecological modelling
0924-7963
216-226
Rhodes, C.J.
b7ca35e8-97d8-400a-b840-95fb133d1561
Truscott, J.E.
8388ae4e-d056-4833-afb7-e26a37dfc343
Martin, A.P.
9d0d480d-9b3c-44c2-aafe-bb980ed98a6d
Rhodes, C.J.
b7ca35e8-97d8-400a-b840-95fb133d1561
Truscott, J.E.
8388ae4e-d056-4833-afb7-e26a37dfc343
Martin, A.P.
9d0d480d-9b3c-44c2-aafe-bb980ed98a6d

Rhodes, C.J., Truscott, J.E. and Martin, A.P. (2008) Viral infection as a regulator of oceanic phytoplankton populations. Journal of Marine Systems, 74 (1-2), 216-226. (doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.01.005).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Viruses are the most abundant organism in seawater across all the world's oceans. Though they are believed to be capable of infecting all phytoplankton species their role in regulating plankton population levels is not well understood. In order to gain an understanding of the potential influence of viruses on phytoplankton population dynamics, particularly ‘blooms’, two plankton ecosystem models with explicit representation of viruses and virally infected phytoplankton are presented, and an initial investigation into their range of behaviours explored. The models are extensions of well-established plankton ecosystem models that now permit the possibility of viral infection and mortality of phytoplankton. Ecological and epidemiological parameters from a number of sources are used to furnish the models. The models are shown to be capable of capturing known features of phytoplankton population dynamics in the presence of viruses: viruses can stably co-exist in the plankton ecosystem without the need to invoke other stabilising processes, and infection can serve to suppress primary production and phytoplankton abundance whilst boosting nutrient levels. Intuitively, viral infection will be most effective when phytoplankton is high. We therefore use the two models to investigate the influence of viral infection on ‘blooms’ in two independent ways: first with a seasonally-forced variability and second with a triggered transient event. It is demonstrated that the impact of viruses can be very noticeable during episodes of enhanced phytoplankton density found during ’blooms’. Viruses serve to attenuate the intensity and duration of these transient events in a manner consistent with observations.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: November 2008
Keywords: Phytoplankton, Epidemic modelling, Predator–prey modelling, Zooplankton, Viral infection, Ecological modelling

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 63857
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/63857
ISSN: 0924-7963
PURE UUID: 005bd0a9-e4a3-484c-be71-2251ea6d9152

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 12 Nov 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:44

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: C.J. Rhodes
Author: J.E. Truscott
Author: A.P. Martin

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×