W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2003 Inverse Model Analysis of Plankton Food Webs in the North Atlantic and Western Antarctic Peninsula Robert M. Daniels College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography Commons Recommended Citation Daniels, Robert M., "Inverse Model Analysis of Plankton Food Webs in the North Atlantic and Western Antarctic Peninsula" (2003). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539617808. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-605c-ty45 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Inverse Model Analysis of Plankton Food Webs in the North Atlantic and Western Antarctic Peninsula A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science by Robert M. Daniels 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................v List of Tables .................................................................................................................................vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................x Chapter I. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2 Background ........................................................................................................................6 Methods ...............................................................................................................................1 Chapter II. The North Atlantic Bloom Experiment .................................................................16 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 17 Methods ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Results...........................................................................................................................................21 Data Synthesis ................................................................................................................. 21 Model Results for NABE Carbon and Nitrogen Inverse Solutions ........................ 35 Network Analysis ............................................................................................................52 Sensitivity Analysis........................................................................................................59 Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter III. Western Antarctic Peninsula .............................................................................. 73 Introduction ......................................................................................................................74 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 77 Results...............................................................................................................................82 Data Synthesis .................................................................................................... 82 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Robert M. Daniels Approved, July 2003 ugh W^Di^klow, Ph.D. Committee Chairman / Advisor 7 David A. EvansTrh.D Deborah K. Steinberg, P h .D .^ ^ 2. Walker O. Smith, Ph.D. iv Page 1996 Carbon Model Results ........................................................................... 102 Network Analysis ................................................................................108 1999 Carbon Model Results ...........................................................................115 Network Analysis ................................................................................122 Sensitivity Analysis for 1996 and 1999 Carbon Models ..............................128 Discussion .........................................................................................................140 Chapter IV. Synthesis ............................................................................................................... 146 North Atlantic vs. Western Antarctic Peninsula ...................................................... 147 Comparison of Short Food Web vs. Microbial Food Web .......................... 151 Comparison of Network Analysis Indices .................................................... 153 Discussion .........................................................................................................155 Classification of Food Webs ..........................................................................160 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................... 165 The Inverse Method ..................................................................................................... 165 Network Analysis and Sensitivity .............................................................................. 168 Literature Cited................................................................................................ 171 Vita............................................................................................................................................... 178 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Hugh Ducklow for his support and guidance in my work. Hugh showed great wisdom and patience and has given me many opportunities to learn and to develop a career in marine science. I am thankful to Dr. Walker Smith for inviting me to do field work in the beautiful frontier of the Southern Ocean and for his review of my work. I am grateful to Dr. Deborah Steinberg for teaching me about the roles of zooplankton in marine food webs and for a thorough and very helpful review of my thesis. My thanks go out to Dr. David Evans who helped me understand the math behind my research. I am thankful to Dr. George Jackson for developing the inverse method program and for his insightful answers to my modeling questions. I owe a great deal of thanks to Dr. Tammi Richardson for her inverse method training, guidance, and helpful answers to my many questions. I also owe my gratitude to the many researchers who took part in the North Atlantic Bloom Experiment including the scientists and crew of the Atlantis II. I am thankful to the researchers in the western Antarctic Peninsula, especially Dr.s Robin Ross, Langdon Quetin, William Fraser, and Raymond Smith who provided me with key insight and data. I am thankful for the wonderful people of the VIMS community who have made this a rewarding and meaningful experience. I would like to thank my good friends who have shared this road with me, especially Amy Chiuchiolo, Serena Ciparis, and Jun Young Kim. I would also like to thank the lunch club and my good friends in the Sea Biscuits: Peter Kingsley-Smith, Pat Kilduff, Martin Wunderly and Ryan Gill. I would like to thank Mark Renninger who taught me how to always give my all. Finally, I am grateful to my family for their love and support. I am thankful for my mother who was always encouraging and taught me to see the world in a positive light. I am grateful to my father who taught me how to put my heart into my work and to think of others. I am thankful to Anne for her support, help with my home, and the great meals. I am thankful for all the support and love of my big sisters Barbara and Jane and my nephews and nieces: Christopher, Jenna, Kassidy, Kimberly, Sean, Ryan, and Katy. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. North Atlantic carbon model inputs .......................................................................33 2. North Atlantic nitrogen model inputs ................................................................... 34 3. North Atlantic carbon biological constraints ....................................................... 36 4. North Atlantic nitrogen biological constraints .....................................................37 5. North Atlantic carbon inverse solution flows ...................................................... 39 6. North Atlantic nitrogen inverse solution flows ....................................................41 7. North Atlantic particulate export (carbon and nitrogen) .................................... 44 8. North Atlantic contributions to the detritus pool (carbon and nitrogen) 45 9. North Atlantic network analysis indices (carbon and nitrogen) ....................... 53 10. North Atlantic dependency