Using these long-term zooplankton biomass data, along with multi-year phytoplankton biomass estimates, we constructed three food web models for the plankton community in the SoG using Ecopath (https://ecopath.org/). Each model provides a steady-state, but seasonally-varying, mass balance in one of three seasons in the SoG: spring, summer, and winter. Our models describe the plankton community using fifteen functional groups, with variations in biomass, diet, and growth and consumption rates. These functional groups include heterotrophic bacteria, phytoplankton, mixotrophic microzooplankton, and mesozooplankton.

The models indicate that the planktonic component of the food web in the Strait of Georgia spans 3 trophic levels. All mesozooplankton have lower trophic levels in the spring than the other two seasons, indicative of the shift to more herbivorous activity in this season. After the spring bloom, microzooplankton increase in dominance and zooplankton diets shift to reflect this change in food availability, increasing their trophic position.