A density-dependent model of competition for one resource in the chemostat

Operating diagrams for a three-tiered microbial food web in the chemostat

In this paper, we consider a three-tiered food web model in a chemostat, including chlorophenol, phenol, and hydrogen substrates and their degraders. The model takes into account the three substrate inflowing concentrations, as well as maintenance, that is, decay terms of the species. The operating diagrams give the asymptotic behavior of the model with respect to the four operating parameters, which are the dilution rate and the three inflowing concentrations of the substrates. These diagrams were obtained only numerically in the existing literature. Using the mathematical analysis of this model obtained in our previous studies, we construct the operating diagrams, by plotting the curves that separate their various regions. Hence, the regions of the operating diagrams are constructed analytically and there is no requirement for time-consuming algorithms to generate the plots, as in the numerical method. Moreover, our method reveals behaviors that have not been detected in the previous numerical studies. The growth functions are of Monod form with the inclusion of a product inhibition term. However, our method applies for a large class of growth functions. We construct operating diagrams with and without maintenance showing the role of maintenance on the stability of the system.

Interspecific density-dependent model of predator–prey relationship in the chemostat

The objective of this study is to analyze a model of competition for one resource in the chemostat with general interspecific density-dependent growth rates, taking into account the predator–prey relationship. This relationship is characterized by the fact that the prey species promotes the growth of the predator species which in turn inhibits the growth of the first species. The model is a three-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations. With the same dilution rates, the model can be reduced to a planar system where the two models have the same local and even global behavior. The existence and stability conditions of all steady states of the reduced model in the plane are determined according to the operating parameters. Using the nullcline method, we present a geometric characterization of the existence and stability of all equilibria showing the multiplicity of coexistence steady states. The bifurcation diagrams illustrate that the steady states can appear or disappear only through saddle-node or transcritical bifurcations. Moreover, the operating diagrams describe the asymptotic behavior of this system by varying the control parameters and show the effect of the inhibition of predation on the emergence of the bistability region and the reduction until the disappearance of the coexistence region by increasing this inhibition parameter.

How can inter-specific interferences explain coexistence or confirm the competitive exclusion principle in a chemostat?

In this paper, I consider two species feeding on limiting substrate in a chemostat taking into account some possible effects of each species on the other one. System of differential equations is proposed as model of these effects with general inter-specific density-dependent growth rates. Three cases were considered. The first one for a mutual inhibitory relationship where it is proved that at most one species can survive which confirms the competitive exclusion principle. Initial concentrations of species have great importance in determination of which species is the winner. The second one for a food web relationship where it is proved that under general assumptions on the dilution rate, both species persist for any initial conditions. Finally, a third case dealing with an obligate mutualistic relationship was discussed. It is proved that initial condition has a great importance in determination of persistence or extinction of both species.

The operating diagram of a model of two competitors in a chemostat with an external inhibitor

Understanding and exploiting the inhibition phenomenon, which promotes the stable coexistence of species, is a major challenge in the mathematical theory of the chemostat. Here, we study a model of two microbial species in a chemostat competing for a single resource in the presence of an external inhibitor. The model is a four-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations. Using general monotonic growth rate functions of the species and absorption rate of the inhibitor, we give a complete analysis for the existence and local stability of all steady states. We focus on the behavior of the system with respect of the three operating parameters represented by the dilution rate and the input concentrations of the substrate and the inhibitor. The operating diagram has the operating parameters as its coordinates and the various regions defined in it correspond to qualitatively different asymptotic behavior: washout, competitive exclusion of one species, coexistence of the species around a stable steady state and coexistence around a stable cycle. This bifurcation diagram which determines the effect of the operating parameters, is very useful to understand the model from both the mathematical and biological points of view, and is often constructed in the mathematical and biological literature.