Abstract
The classical chemostat models of Monod and others were designed for unicellular organisms. We summarize evidence that these models are not adequate for the rotifer chemostat, then propose a new, physiologically structured model that resolves some of their key problems yet remains biologically simple. The new model includes separate ontogenetic stages for eggs and free-swimming rotifers, with generalized age structure in the egg stage and body mass structure in the free-swimming stage. We present several numerical examples to illustrate the model's behavior, and we compare these in a preliminary way with experimental evidence from the literature.
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McNair, J.N., Boraas, M.E. & Seale, D.B. Size-structure dynamics of the rotifer chemostat: a simple physiologically structured model. Hydrobiologia 387, 469–476 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017068528234
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017068528234