‘The control of diatom populations by grazing’: Richard Fleming and the first marine ecosystem model

Marine ecosystem models play a central role in the progress of oceanography, and modelling is usually included as a major component in large scientific programmes to complement experimental and observational work. Today’s models often exhibit great complexity in terms of the numbers of variables and processes that are represented, and are frequently embedded in large 3D circulation models. It all seems a far cry from the early beginnings, notably the development of the first ever marine ecosystem model by Richard H. Fleming just over eighty years ago.