Toxin-allelopathy among phytoplankton species prevents competitive exclusion
Abstract
Toxic or allelopathic compounds liberated by toxin-producing phytoplankton (TPP) acts as a strong mediator in plankton dynamics. On an analysis of a set of phytoplankton biomass-data that have been collected by our group in the North-West part of the Bay of Bengal, and by analysis of a three-component mathematical model under a constant as well as a stochastic environment, we explore the role of toxin-allelopathy in determining the dynamic behaviour of the competing-phytoplankton species. The overall results, based on analytical and numerical wings, demonstrate that toxin-allelopathy due to the toxin-producing phytoplankton (TPP) promotes a stable coexistence of those competitive phytoplankton that would otherwise exhibit competitive exclusion of the weak species. Our study suggests that TPP might be a potential candidate for maintaining the coexistence and diversity of competing phytoplankton species.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.q-bio/0607016,
title = {Toxin-allelopathy among phytoplankton species prevents competitive exclusion},
author = {Shovonlal Roy and Joydev Chattopadhyay},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:q-bio/0607016},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
29 pages, 6 figures, Journal Paper