A model for shear response in swimming plankton

Authored by Justin Shaw, Marek Stastna

Date Published: 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2016.10.012

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: NetLogo

Model Documentation: ODD Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Observations of zooplankton populations below their preferred light level have been attributed to a shear response. We propose a measure of shear based on the second invariant of the rate of strain tensor. This quantification allows the shear response mechanism to be modelled numerically. The importance of this mechanism is examined by modifying a light-biased stochastic swimming model of the run and tumble type for plankton moving in a velocity field induced by internal waves in a channel. It is found that a model which includes the mechanisms of settling, biased swimming, and a ``freeze in shear{''} response predicts aggregation of plankton populations below their preferred light level, which is consistent with acoustic data observations. Depending on the geometry of the high shear region, the population is either shifted downward, or aggregates as a thin layer along the bottom boundary of the high shear region. A pair of timescales is defined in order to determine which of these two cases will occur. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tags
Topography turbulence plankton zooplankton Vertical migration Nonlinear internal waves Euphausiid euphausia-pacifica Knight inlet sill Stratified flow Solitary waves Fluid Individual based model (ibm) Euphausia pacifica Internal waves Shear response Rheotaxis Patch formation Knight inlet