Ecosystem model
![A structural diagram of the open ocean plankton ecosystem model of Fasham, Ducklow & McKelvie (1990).[1]](/Images/godic/202501/10/Fasham_Ducklow_McKelvie_1990.svg2425.png")
![Diagram of the Silver Springs model (Odum, 1971). Note the aggregation into functional groups such as](/Images/godic/202501/10/Silver_Spring_Model2426.jpg")
![A sample time-series of the Lotka-Volterra model. Note that the two populations exhibit cyclic behaviour, and that the predator cycle lags behind that of the prey.](/Images/godic/202501/10/Volterra_lotka_dynamics2426.PNG")
An ecosystem model is an abstract, usually mathematical, representation of an ecological system (ranging in scale from an individual population, to an ecological community, or even an entire biome), which is studied to gain understanding of the real system.