FLORENCE HULOT · Allelopathic interactions between algae and bacteria

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Project objective

The aim of the project is to study the effect of allelopathy between lgae and bacteria in a spatially structured world. Chemical warfare is often thought to influence population dynamics but its importance in aquatic ecosystems is not at all clear. The different aspects of the project are to study allelopathic interactions between species of algae and bacteria, effects of bacteria on coexistence and succession of species of algae, and assessment of the effects of spatial structure on allelopathy. The project should give insights into how bacteria as potential producers, decomposers or victims of allelopathic substances may affect primary productivity and resistance to species invasion in natural ecosystems. The spatial structure, which might be highly heterogeneous at the scale of unicellular organisms, will be taken into account explicitly. The project will combine mathematical modeling and laboratory experiments. Models for allelopathic interactions will be formulated and analysed. These models will include algae and bacteria to assess how allelopathy may affect competition within algae and between algae and bacteria. Tests of the predictions will be based on plating techniques by monitoring cultures in petri dish using cameras and image analysis. The anticipated results of the project will provide insights to improve strategies in water management and fisheries, which are often plagued by toxic microorganisms.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · AMSTERDAMCoordinatorNetherlands

Links

• View on CORDIS