Science is about learning how the world that surrounds us works. At its heart it involves puzzle-solving and adventures in critical thinking and ideas, often expressed as hypotheses about the underlying causes and mechanisms of observed phenomena. Why do high-latitude copepods accumulate large reserves of lipid? How will animal physiology and growth respond to warming climate? What causes the termination of phytoplankton blooms? One way to address questions like these is to carry out observations and experiments. What is often underappreciated, however, is that as well as guiding empirical studies, simulation models can also be used to test hypotheses and make discoveries (Figure 1). As we will show here, the results of even simple simulations can be unexpected, indeed surprising, leading to new knowledge and understanding of the functioning and dynamics of marine ecosystems.
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