A model study with light-dependent mortality rates of copepod stages

It is found that the different choices of mortality affect the development of populations in several ways: Relative small initial differences of abundances at the beginning of the spring bloom are important for the development of the model populations. Higher mortality rates are less important at food rich conditions than at scarce resources. At low phytoplankton levels, the individual development of the copepods through the stages can be faster for elevated mortality rates because then less animals have to share the available food.