Advection-Dispersion-Reaction Systems Modeling the Influence of Salinity and Nutrient Recycling on the Competition of Algae

Prymnesium parvum, also called ``golden algae", occurs worldwide and is capable of forming large fish-killing blooms in coastal and inland water environments. It was known that blooms of P. parvum have increased in the inland waters of Texas and other parts of USA. A viable phytoplankton community usually emerges during the occurrence of harmful algal blooms in riverine ecosystems. It is important to understand the persistence of algae in the presence of flow and the spatial variation of algal abundance and toxicity during bloom and flow events. Recently, it has been suggested that management of flow is a possible strategy to control harmful algal blooms and mitigate their effects in some river systems. To understand longitudinal patterns arising along the axis of flow, advection-dispersion-reaction systems were proposed to incorporate the effects of spatial variations of harmful algae and its toxin production and decay, in riverine reservoirs. The models are one-dimensional systems with simple habitat geometry and transport processes, and they have been partly analyzed. It was reported that salinity, nutrient recycling, and temperature can play central roles in facilitating P. parvum blooms. Dr. James P. Grover and I are trying to construct advection-dispersion-reaction systems modeling effects of salinity, nutrient recycling, and temperature in the dynamics of harmful algae.

Project ID:PB10507-2473
External Project ID:MOST105-2628-M182-001-MY3