Exploring, exploiting and evolving diversity of aquatic ecosystem models: a community perspective

Summary

Aquatic ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services. They are, for instance, a source for drinking water and a sink for waste water. Aquatic ecosystem models play an important role in understanding the functioning of these ecosystems, filling in observation gaps and developing effective strategies for water quality management. In this spirit, numerous models have been developed since the 1970s. Here we present a community perspective on how to explore, exploit and evolve the diversity in aquatic ecosystem models. We set off to explore model diversity by making an inventory among 42 aquatic ecosystem modellers, by categorizing the resulting set of models and by analysing them for diversity. We then focus on how to exploit the synergy that arises when different disciplines, frameworks, models, spatial configurations and approaches are combined. Finally we discuss how model diversity came about in the past and could evolve in the future. Throughout our study we use analogies from biodiversity research to analyse and interpret model diversity. We recommend (1) to make models publicly available, i.e. making them open source with a transparent model structure, (2) to standardize models with respect to documentation and technical implementation (as opposed to model content), and (3) to compare models through ensemble modelling and interdisciplinary approaches. We end with giving our