Print PageHarmful algal blooms have negative impact on many aquatic ecosystems, and many species involved in such blooms form resting stages such as cysts. One harmful algal species, Prymnesium parvum has been observed to produce nonmotile cells and cysts in laboratory cultures and field populations, and its toxicity to fish appears to decline when active, motile cells become inactive. Our research provides a mathematical model for the conversion between the motile and non-motile states of P. parvum, in chemostat and batch culture environments. Our model follows the Monod model for algal growth as a function of nutrient concentration.
Results/Conclusions
Through an analysis of the resulting differential equations, we observed the rate and time at which P. parvum populations (both motile and non-motile) reach equilibrium after nutrient exhaustion, in the batch culture. In the chemostat culture, we observed that rates at which P. parvum motile and non-motile populations are formed must be higher than the dilution rate of the culture for the population to persist.
