Abstract
The success or failure of fish populations in rivers is intimately linked to a complex and interconnected series of ecological interactions. This complexity can make it difficult to predict how organisms within river ecosystems will respond to management actions and other environmental changes. To aid in solving this dilemma, we constructed a food web simulation model termed the Aquatic Trophic Productivity (ATP) model. The ATP model mechanistically links the success of fish populations to the dynamics of river food webs and the abiotic conditions that influence these webs. This report serves as a user manual for version 3.3 of the ATP model, which was designed to explore how river food webs and fish species, particularly Pacific salmon and trout, respond to management actions and other environmental changes. The report includes a discussion of the model’s origins, assumptions, structure, and application. Our primary goal is to provide users the background information needed to apply the model to research and management questions. Specifically, we describe how to parameterize the model and conduct simulations from the model’s user interface.
Keywords
River restoration,
ecosystem management,
Pacific salmon and trout,
system dynamics modeling,
ecological modeling,
decision support tool.
Citation
Whitney, Emily J.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Benjamin, Joseph R. 2019. User manual for the aquatic trophic productivity model: a river food web simulation model for management and research. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-973. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 89 p.
