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")

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.