Dynamical system of phytoplankton and dissolved nutrient interaction : a thesis presented to Mathematics Department of Massey University, New Zealand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics

Abstract

The first step in modelling the dynamics of phytoplankton and dissolved nutrient interaction made use of a simple model called The N-P model. This model was extracted from Busenberg et al [2]. Results from the analysis were obtained. Laboratory experiments were set up and from the observations the process of conversion of the dead phytoplankton occurred after a certain number of time delay. Moreover, from the data obtained the populations of these interactive components behaved in oscillatory mode. This was believed to happen due to the presence of a third component called the dead phytoplankton. All these experimental results did not agree with the results obtained from the analysis. Thus a new model was then formulated, called the N-P-D model. A unit function with the delay-time and the dead phytoplankton (D) were included. Analysis were made and results compared.