Population dynamics model of interacting copepod species coupled with a 1‐D model of phytoplankton dynamics in the Greenland Sea Gyre

The population dynamics of two copepods Calanus hyperboreus and Oithona similis are simulated simultaneously in a 1‐D model of phytoplankton and nutrient in the centre of the Greenland Sea Gyre. The copepod model describes the development of cohorts in terms of numbers and biomasses over the year. Effects of competition for food and interactions (predation) between species have been studied. Due to the short period of phytoplankton bloom and the slow growth of large copepods, small but fast growing copepods can play a key role in the ecosystem dynamics: they consume the phytoplankton when the bloom occurs, recycle matter in the upper layer, and serve as preys for larger species.