Particle-based representation of phytoplankton modulates emergent coexistence and biogeography in a model ocean

Particle-based modeling of a size-structured phytoplankton community in an idealized North Atlantic double-gyre produces stronger northern seasonal biomass variability and more robust biogeographical structure than Eulerian modeling.

• Why it matters: Understanding how phytoplankton diversity and biogeography emerge under shared finite nutrients is incomplete, especially how mortality representation and environmental histories shape coexistence.
• What they did: The authors compared Eulerian and Lagrangian (particle-based) modeling frameworks in the double-gyre, varying particle number and a mortality threshold, and tracking biomass, local richness/diversity, and biogeographical structure.
• The result: With sufficient particles, PBM yields higher northern local richness and diversity than Eulerian, while in the oligotrophic southern gyre PBM richness increases with particle number; PBM biogeography is more robust to mortality threshold and particle-experienced environmental variability matters more in the northern gyre.

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