Effect of salinity and fish predation on zooplankton dynamics in Hooghly–Matla estuarine system, India

• A PZF model with Holling type-II response function in Hooghly-Matla estuarine system, India is considered
• Both the effects of salinity and fish predation on zooplankton are incorporated in the model.
• Global stability of the co-existence equilibrium of the system is proven.
• The salinity effect has a prominent role in significantly stabilizing the coexistence equilibrium in our model is shown.
• Numerical simulations are presented to validate the analytical observations.

The Hooghly–Matla estuarine complex is the unique estuarine system of the world. Nutrient from the litterfall enrich the adjacent estuary through tidal influence which in turn regulate the phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish population dynamics. Environmental factors regulate the biotic components of the system, among which salinity plays a leading role in the regulation of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish dynamics of the estuary. In this article, a PZF model is considered with Holling type-II response function. The present model considers salinity based equations on plankton dynamics of the estuary. The interior equilibrium is considered as the most important equilibrium state of this model. The model equations are solved both analytically and numerically using the real data base of Hooghly–Matla estuarine system. The essential mathematical features of the present model have been analyzed thorough local and global stability and the bifurcations arising in some selected situations. A combination of set of values of the salinity of the estuary are identified that helped to determine the sustenance of fish population in the system. The ranges of salinity under which the system undergoes Hopf bifurcation are determined. Numerical illustrations are performed in order to validate the applicability of the model under consideration.