EtoE EcoModel (August 2008, Ankara, Turkey)

Analysis of End-to-End Food Webs and Biogeochemical Cycles

11-16 August 2008, Ankara, Turkey

Background

The summer school was designed to provide participants with high-level teaching activities given by internationally known scientists. The summer school targeted PhD students and Post-docs working with biogeochemical cycles and end-to-end food webs. For each topic shown below, a combination of theoretical courses and practical workshops were given. The discussion and poster sessions were organized to stimulate interaction between student and also between students and the lecturers.

Lecture series on “Main processes controlling marine food webs”

Fundamentals of food web structure and functioning and biogeochemical cycles: processes and parameterisations
Trophic cascades: depletion of top predator fishes (top-down), change in small pelagic stocks (wasp-waist), enrichment of the system (bottom-up)
Climate-induced controls through:
- temperature >metabolic rates
- stratification> nutrient fluxes > phytoplankton community structure
- habitat modification> transport-optimal vs realised habitats
- turbulence (turbulence-avoidance strategy vs reduction in pursuit success and capture ability)

Lecture series on “Advances in end-to-end food web modelling”

Coupled physical-biogeochemical models (including optics)
Plankton functional type models: ecology vs biogeochemisty, aggregation
IBMs and their coupling with lower trophic level models
Model skill assessments