Abstract
The problem of extinction of the prey population in a microbial predator-prey interaction in a chemostat has been examined. Usual deterministic lumped parameter models were used for the dynamics of the chemostat for large numbers of the two populations; the generalized birth and death stochastic process was employed for the description of the random variations at small prey numbers. Extinction probabilities of the prey population were calculated for different holding times and chemostat volumes, and their dependence upon the growth parameters of the two populations was studied. It was found that extinction was possible when the Monod model was used for the specific growth rate of the predators as a function of the prey number density. On the other hand, the decrease of the feeding activity of the predators at low prey densities predicted by the multiple saturation model acts as a regulatory factor that prevents extinction of the prey. In view of the fact that extinction of the prey has never been observed in the laboratory, the latter model seems more appropriate to describe the dynamics of microbial predation.
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Stephanopoulos, G., Fredrickson, A.G. Extinction probabilities in microbial predation: A birth and death approach. Bltn Mathcal Biology 43, 165–181 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02459441
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02459441