Cross-Feeding Dynamics Described by a Series Expansion of the Replicator Equation
Journal article, 2013

Understanding how ecosystems evolve and how they respond to external perturbations is critical if we are to predict the effects of human intervention. A particular class of ecosystems whose dynamics are poorly understood are those in which the species are related via cross-feeding. In these ecosystems the metabolic output of one species is being used as a nutrient or energy source by another species. In this paper we derive a mathematical description of cross-feeding dynamics based on the replicator equation. We show that under certain assumptions about the system (e.g., high flow of nutrients and time scale separation), the governing equations reduce to a second-order series expansion of the replicator equation. By analysing the case of two and three species we derive conditions for co-existence and show under which parameter conditions one can expect an increase in mean fitness. Finally, we discuss how the model can be parameterised from experimental data.

evolution

bacteria

population

Syntrophy

escherichia-coli

diversity

Population dynamics

Cross-feeding

Author

Torbjörn Lundh

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences, Mathematics

Philip Gerlee

Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences, Mathematics

University of Gothenburg

Bulletin of Mathematical Biology

0092-8240 (ISSN) 1522-9602 (eISSN)

Vol. 75 5 709-724

Subject Categories

Other Medical and Health Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11538-013-9828-3

More information

Created

10/8/2017