| This paper describes the development of a modelling framework to study the distribution in the English Channel of a benthic bivalve with planktonic larvae, Paphia rhomboides. Age-structured population dynamics and growth models are linked together to a compartmental transport and NPZ (Nutrients-Phytoplankton-Zooplankton) model. Used in a spin-up mode, i.e. with identical environmental forcing from a year to the next, this deterministic model converges to the same steady state whatever the initial conditions, after 15-30 years of simulation. Important features of the P. rhomboides distribution are reproduced, particularly its high abundance in the GNB (Golfe Normand-Breton) and its almost complete absence in the Western Channel. The results are discussed in... |
