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Fish and plankton in illustrationMERP is advancing our understanding of the processes that drive the dynamics of marine ecosystems, and in particular marine food webs. This improved knowledge is integrated into existing ecosystem models, which are mathematical representations of an ecological system, to predict impacts of evironmental change on the structure and function of marine food webs and the services they provide. The effectiveness of various indicators that are being developed to measure environmental status have also been explored. A range of existing marine ecosystem models and the modellers that have been developing them were brought together in MERP to determine which of the modelling approaches is best suited for particular groups of organisms, scales, geographical areas and required outputs. Developing and testing the models to more realistically represent the complexity of marine ecosystems, and making linkages between the models that enable them to ‘feed’ from each other or work together were key aims of MERP.
 

Use our Modelling interactive

The infographic below provides an overview of the MERP models and the food-web categories that are their inputs and outputs. Further information is included in the following pages, while a fully interactive version of this infographic can be interrogated on the MERP website. You are encouraged to get in touch with the contacts for each model if they can be of assistance with a policy or management issue where the models may be of some help.

Model interactive
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Other research outcomes

Illustration of UK map
Policy and Management
Fishing boat illustration with seabirds flying overhead
Fish, Fisheries and Fishing
Illustrations of Mussels
Natural Capital
Bird in water with fish in its mouth
Top Predators