Ref ID : 116
Martin E. Boraas and William N. Bennett; Steady-state rotifer growth in a two-stage, computer-controlled turbidostat. J.Plankton Research 10(5):1023-1038, 1988
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Steady-state populations of rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus) were maintained in two-stage, continuous-flow turbidostatic culture on the green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa. In this system, the maximum specific growth rate, u(max), of the rotifers was maintained by using a computer to control the concentration of algae, as rotifer food, in the rotifer culture. As rotifers consumed algae, the turbidity decreased until a set-point was reached. Then fresh algal suspension (supplied from a steady-state algal chemostat) was metered into the rotifer culture, which was held in the dark. Rotifer and algal populations, as well as rotifer u(max), entered steady states. These steady-state results were consistent with previous data from chemostat studies, but growth transients indicated that the u(max) of the rotifers may be subject to selection. The system is unique in providing a means to explore population dynamics of a metazoan maintained near its u(max).