Modeling the growth and sporulation dynamics of the macroalga Ulva in mixed-age populations in cultivation and the formation of green tides

[摘要] Ulva is a widespread green algal genus with important ecological roles andpromising potential as a seagriculture crop. One of the major challengeswhen cultivating Ulva is sudden biomass disappearance, likely caused byuncontrolled and unpredicted massive sporulation. However, the dynamics ofthis process are still poorly understood. In this study, we propose amathematical model describing the biomass accumulation and degradation of Ulva, considering the potential impact of sporulation inhibitors. We developed adifferential equation model describing the time evolution of Ulva biomass. Ourmodel simulates biomass in compartments of different Ulva “age” classes, withvarying growth and sporulation rates. Coupled with these classes is adifferential equation describing the presence of a sporulation inhibitor,produced and secreted by the algae. Our model mimics observed Ulva dynamics. Wepresent Ulva 's biomass accumulation under different initial algaepopulation, age distributions and sporulation rates. Furthermore, wesimulate water replacement, effectively depleting the sporulation inhibitor,and examine its effects on Ulva 's biomass accumulation. The modeldeveloped in this work is the first step towards understanding the dynamicsof Ulva growth and degradation. Future work refining and expanding our resultsshould prove beneficial to the ecological research and industrial growth of Ulva .

[学科分类] 大气科学