The ecological basis for simulating phytoplankton responses to environmental change (PROTECH)

The theory and mathematical development of a model, called PROTECH, are pre sented. The model simulates the dynamic responses of up to eight species of phytoplankton to environmental variability in lakes and reservoirs. PROTEC H models were developed originally to fulfil a commercial, decision-support role in the management of industrial water quality, where plankton growth is an issue. The progressive refinements to the model nevertheless. have a robust ecological basis. This makes PROTECH a promising tool for researchin g plankton community ecology. The model calculates exponents describing gro wth acid attrition, from a base of the maximum growth rates of algal specie s in culture. Subject to defined thresholds, growth integrates variability in the fluxes of light and nutrients. The paper develops this philosophy an d its embodiment into the structure of the model. Examples of its authentic ated, validated and sensitivity-tested outputs are presented. (C) 2001 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.