Modelling the persistence of zooplankton in the Irish Sea using optimal vertical migration patterns

The persistence of different species of zooplankton within a region is dependent on their vertical migration behaviour. Such behaviour is influenced by many factors, including food availability and predation risk. These parameters will be built into models that predict vertical migration behaviour in different environmental conditions. The fate of species with different vertical migration strategies will be predicted using existing models of circulation in the Irish Sea. Three complementary approaches will be taken. Known patters of migration of species will be used in the first model to predict the degree of advection through the life history. Migration patterns that optimise retention in the Irish Sea will be predicted with two further methods that employ the same predicted flow field and where fitness is maximised by retention in the Irish Sea.