Physics of sinking and selection of plankton cell size

Abstract Gravitational sinking in the water column is known to affect size composition of planktonic communities. One important driver toward the reduction of plankton size is the fact that larger cells tend to sink faster below the euphotic layer. In this work, we discuss the role of gravitational sinking in driving cell size selection, showing that the outcome of phytoplankton competition is determined by the dependence of sinking velocity on cell size, shape, and on the temporal variability associated with turbulence. This opens a question on whether regional modulations of the turbulence intensity could affect size distribution of planktonic communities.