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Competition of two suspension-feeding protozoan populations for a growing bacterial population in continuous culture

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Abstract

Mathematical studies for ecosystems involving 2 predators competing for a growing prey population have shown that the 2 competitors can coexist in a state of sustained oscillations for a range of values of the system parameters. For the case of 1 suspension-feeding protozoan population, recent experimental observations suggest that the predator-prey interaction is complicated by the ability of the bacteria to grow on products produced by the lysis of protozoan cells. This situation is studied here for the case where 2 suspension-feeding protozoan populations compete for a growing bacterial population in a chemostat. Computer simulations show that the 2 protozoan populations can coexist over a range of the operating parameters. Some necessary conditions for coexistence are presented as are some speculations regarding the possible physical explanations of results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Basil C. Baltzis & A. G. Fredrickson

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  1. Basil C. Baltzis
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  2. A. G. Fredrickson
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Baltzis, B.C., Fredrickson, A.G. Competition of two suspension-feeding protozoan populations for a growing bacterial population in continuous culture. Microb Ecol 10, 61–68 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02011595

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