GREENCYCLESII

T2.3 Beate Stawiarski

The aim of this project is to improve the representation of picophytoplankton in a global ocean biogeochemical model. In combination with an ongoing project on the representation of microzooplankton (Buitenhuis et al. in press) and the recent inclusion of bacteria in the PlankTOM10 model (Le Quere et al. 2005, in prep.), the overall aim is to better represent the microbial loop. In this project the PhD student would combine data synthesis of published physiological information (maximum growth rate, nutrient and light physiology, nutrient stoichiometries and DOC production) with laboratory experiments to fill in the gaps. With these data, the following questions will be addressed:
 Are picophytoplankton typical K-strategists with low maximum growth rates and high afffinities for light and nutrients?
 Do they achieve this by having low minimum nutrient and high maximum chlorophyll quota relative to carbon, or by having superior nutrient uptake kinetics?