Cs. Reynolds et al., The ecological basis for simulating phytoplankton responses to environmental change (PROTECH), ECOL MODEL, 140(3), 2001, pp. 271-291
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.