When can a population spreading across sink habitats persist?

We consider populations with time-varying growth rates living in sinks. Each population, when isolated, would become extinct. Dispersal-induced growth (DIG) occurs when the populations are able to persist and grow exponentially when dispersal among the populations is present. We provide a mathematical analysis of this surprising phenomenon, in the context of a deterministic model with periodic variation of growth rates and non-symmetric migration which are assumed to be piecewise continuous. We also consider a stochastic model with random variation of growth rates and migration. This work extends existing results of the literature on the DIG effects obtained for periodic continuous growth rates and time independent symmetric migration.

Untangling the role of temporal and spatial variations in persistence of populations.

We consider a population distributed between two habitats, in each of which it experiences a growth rate that switches periodically between two values, 1-ɛ>0 or -(1+ɛ)<0. We study the specific case where the growth rate is positive in one habitat and negative in the other one for the first half of the period, and conversely for the second half of the period, that we refer as the (±1) model. In the absence of migration, the population goes to 0 exponentially fast in each environment. In this paper, we show that, when the period is sufficiently large, a small dispersal between the two patches is able to produce a very high positive exponential growth rate for the whole population, a phenomena called inflation. We prove in particular that the threshold of the dispersal rate at which the inflation appears is exponentially small with the period. We show that inflation is robust to random perturbation, by considering a model where the values of the growth rate in each patch are switched at random times: we prove that inflation occurs for low switching rate and small dispersal. We also consider another stochastic model, where after each period of time T, the values of the growth rates in each patch is chosen randomly, independently from the other patch and from the past. Finally, we provide some extensions to more complicated models, especially epidemiological and density dependent models.

Performance Study of Two Serial Interconnected Chemostats with Mortality.

The present work considers the model of two chemostats in series when a biomass mortality is considered in each vessel. We study the performance of the serial configuration for two different criteria which are the output substrate concentration and the biogas flow rate production, at steady state. A comparison is made with a single chemostat with the same total volume. Our techniques apply for a large class of growth functions and allow us to retrieve known results obtained when the mortality is not included in the model and the results obtained for specific growth functions in both the mathematical literature and the biological literature. In particular, we provide a complete characterization of operating conditions under which the serial configuration is more efficient than the single chemostat, i.e., the output substrate concentration of the serial configuration is smaller than that of the single chemostat or, equivalently, the biogas flow rate of the serial configuration is larger than that of the single chemostat. The study shows that the maximum biogas flow rate, relative to the dilution rate, of the series device is higher than that of the single chemostat provided that the volume of the first tank is large enough. This non-intuitive property does not occur for the model without mortality.

Operating diagrams for a three-tiered microbial food web in the chemostat.

In this paper, we consider a three-tiered food web model in a chemostat, including chlorophenol, phenol, and hydrogen substrates and their degraders. The model takes into account the three substrate inflowing concentrations, as well as maintenance, that is, decay terms of the species. The operating diagrams give the asymptotic behavior of the model with respect to the four operating parameters, which are the dilution rate and the three inflowing concentrations of the substrates. These diagrams were obtained only numerically in the existing literature. Using the mathematical analysis of this model obtained in our previous studies, we construct the operating diagrams, by plotting the curves that separate their various regions. Hence, the regions of the operating diagrams are constructed analytically and there is no requirement for time-consuming algorithms to generate the plots, as in the numerical method. Moreover, our method reveals behaviors that have not been detected in the previous numerical studies. The growth functions are of Monod form with the inclusion of a product inhibition term. However, our method applies for a large class of growth functions. We construct operating diagrams with and without maintenance showing the role of maintenance on the stability of the system.

Asymmetric dispersal in the multi-patch logistic equation.

The standard model for the dynamics of a fragmented density-dependent population is built from several local logistic models coupled by migrations. First introduced in the 1970s and used in innumerable articles, this standard model applied to a two-patch situation has never been fully analyzed. Here, we complete this analysis and we delineate the conditions under which fragmentation associated with dispersal is either favorable or unfavorable to total population abundance. We pay special attention to the case of asymmetric dispersal, i.e., the situation in which the dispersal rate from patch 1 to patch 2 is not equal to the dispersal rate from patch 2 to patch 1. We show that this asymmetry can have a crucial quantitative influence on the effect of dispersal.

Is dispersal always beneficial to carrying capacity? New insights from the multi-patch logistic equation.

The standard model for the dynamics of a fragmented density-dependent population is built from several local logistic models coupled by migrations. First introduced in the 1970s and used in innumerable articles, this standard model applied to a two-patch situation has never been completely analysed. Here, we complete this analysis and we delineate the conditions under which fragmentation associated to dispersal is either beneficial or detrimental to total population abundance. Therefore, this is a contribution to the SLOSS question. Importantly, we also show that, depending on the underlying mechanism, there is no unique way to generalize the logistic model to a patchy situation. In many cases, the standard model is not the correct generalization. We analyse several alternative models and compare their predictions. Finally, we emphasize the shortcomings of the logistic model when written in the r-K parameterization and we explain why Verhulst's original polynomial expression is to be preferred.

Predicting coexistence of plants subject to a tolerance-competition trade-off.

Ecological trade-offs between species are often invoked to explain species coexistence in ecological communities. However, few mathematical models have been proposed for which coexistence conditions can be characterized explicitly in terms of a trade-off. Here we present a model of a plant community which allows such a characterization. In the model plant species compete for sites where each site has a fixed stress condition. Species differ both in stress tolerance and competitive ability. Stress tolerance is quantified as the fraction of sites with stress conditions low enough to allow establishment. Competitive ability is quantified as the propensity to win the competition for empty sites. We derive the deterministic, discrete-time dynamical system for the species abundances. We prove the conditions under which plant species can coexist in a stable equilibrium. We show that the coexistence conditions can be characterized graphically, clearly illustrating the trade-off between stress tolerance and competitive ability. We compare our model with a recently proposed, continuous-time dynamical system for a tolerance-fecundity trade-off in plant communities, and we show that this model is a special case of the continuous-time version of our model.

Effect of a new variable integration on steady states of a two-step Anaerobic Digestion Model.

This paper deals with a mathematical analysis of two-steps model of anaerobic digestion process, including dynamics of soluble microbial products (SMP). We propose to investigate effects of the new variable SMP on qualitative properties of the process in different generic cases. Equilibria of the model are graphically established considering qualitative properties of the kinetics and, their stability are proved theoretically and/or verified by numerical simulations. It will shown that the model has a rich qualitative behavior as equilibria bifurcation and multi-stability according to the considered bifurcation parameter.

Study of performance criteria of serial configuration of two chemostats.

This paper deals with thorough analysis of serial configurations of two chemostats. We establish an in-depth mathematical study of all possible steady states, and we compare the performances of the two serial interconnected chemostats with the performances of a single one. The comparison is evaluated under three different criteria. We analyze, at steady state, the minimization of the output substrate concentration, the productivity of the biomass and the biogas flow rate. We determine specific conditions, which depend on the biological parameters, the operating parameters of the model and the distribution of the total volume. These necessary and sufficient conditions provide the most efficient serial configuration of two chemostats versus one. Complementarily, this mainly helps to discern when it is not advisable to use the serial configuration instead of a simple chemostat, depending on: the considered criterion, the operating parameters fixed by the operator and the distribution of the volumes into the two tanks.

The operating diagram of a model of two competitors in a chemostat with an external inhibitor.

Understanding and exploiting the inhibition phenomenon, which promotes the stable coexistence of species, is a major challenge in the mathematical theory of the chemostat. Here, we study a model of two microbial species in a chemostat competing for a single resource in the presence of an external inhibitor. The model is a four-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations. Using general monotonic growth rate functions of the species and absorption rate of the inhibitor, we give a complete analysis for the existence and local stability of all steady states. We focus on the behavior of the system with respect of the three operating parameters represented by the dilution rate and the input concentrations of the substrate and the inhibitor. The operating diagram has the operating parameters as its coordinates and the various regions defined in it correspond to qualitatively different asymptotic behavior: washout, competitive exclusion of one species, coexistence of the species around a stable steady state and coexistence around a stable cycle. This bifurcation diagram which determines the effect of the operating parameters, is very useful to understand the model from both the mathematical and biological points of view, and is often constructed in the mathematical and biological literature.

A density-dependent model of competition for one resource in the chemostat.

This paper deals with a two-microbial species model in competition for a single-resource in the chemostat including general intra- and interspecific density-dependent growth rates with distinct removal rates for each species. In order to understand the effects of intra- and interspecific interference, this general model is first studied by determining the conditions of existence and local stability of steady states. With the same removal rate, the model can be reduced to a planar system and then the global stability results for each steady state are derived. The bifurcations of steady states according to interspecific interference parameters are analyzed in a particular case of density-dependent growth rates which are usually used in the literature. The operating diagrams show how the model behaves by varying the operating parameters and illustrate the effect of the intra- and interspecific interference on the disappearance of coexistence region and the occurrence of bi-stability region. Concerning the small enough interspecific interference terms, we would shed light on the global convergence towards the coexistence steady state for any positive initial condition. When the interspecific interference pressure is large enough this system exhibits bi-stability where the issue of the competition depends on the initial condition.

A model of a syntrophic relationship between two microbial species in a chemostat including maintenance.

Many microbial ecosystems can be seen as microbial 'food chains' where the different reaction steps can be seen as such: the waste products of the organisms at a given reaction step are consumed by organisms at the next reaction step. In the present paper we study a model of a two-step biological reaction with feedback inhibition, which was recently presented as a reduced and simplified version of the anaerobic digestion model ADM1 of the International Water Association (IWA). It is known that in the absence of maintenance (or decay) the microbial 'food chain' is stable. In a previous study, using a purely numerical approach and ADM1 consensus parameter values, it was shown that the model remains stable when decay terms are added. However, the authors could not prove in full generality that it remains true for other parameter values. In this paper we prove that introducing decay in the model preserves stability whatever its parameters values are and for a wide range of kinetics.

Competition for a single resource and coexistence of several species in the chemostat.

We study a model of the chemostat with several species in competition for a single resource. We take into account the intra-specific interactions between individuals of the same population of micro-organisms and we assume that the growth rates are increasing and the dilution rates are distinct. Using the concept of steady-state characteristics, we present a geometric characterization of the existence and stability of all equilibria. Moreover, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the control parameters of the system to have a positive equilibrium. Using a Lyapunov function, we give a global asymptotic stability result for the competition model of several species. The operating diagram describes the asymptotic behavior of this model with respect to control parameters and illustrates the effect of the intra-specific competition on the coexistence region of the species.

The mathematical analysis of a syntrophic relationship between two microbial species in a chemostat.

A mathematical model involving a syntrophic relationship between two populations of bacteria in a continuous culture is proposed. A detailed qualitative analysis is carried out as well as the analysis of the local and global stability of the equilibria. We demonstrate, under general assumptions of monotonicity which are relevant from an applied point of view, the asymptotic stability of the positive equilibrium point which corresponds to the coexistence of the two bacteria. A syntrophic relationship in the anaerobic digestion process is proposed as a real candidate for this model.

Global dynamics of the chemostat with different removal rates and variable yields.

In this paper, we consider a competition model between n species in a chemostat including both monotone and non-monotone growth functions, distinct removal rates and variable yields. We show that only the species with the lowest break-even concentration survives, provided that additional technical conditions on the growth functions and yields are satisfied. We construct a Lyapunov function which reduces to the Lyapunov function used by S. B. Hsu [SIAM J. Appl. Math., 34 (1978), pp. 760-763] in the Monod case when the growth functions are of Michaelis-Menten type and the yields are constant. Various applications are given including linear, quadratic and cubic yields.

Qualitative simulation of genetic regulatory networks using piecewise-linear models.

In order to cope with the large amounts of data that have become available in genomics, mathematical tools for the analysis of networks of interactions between genes, proteins, and other molecules are indispensable. We present a method for the qualitative simulation of genetic regulatory networks, based on a class of piecewise-linear (PL) differential equations that has been well-studied in mathematical biology. The simulation method is well-adapted to state-of-the-art measurement techniques in genomics, which often provide qualitative and coarse-grained descriptions of genetic regulatory networks. Given a qualitative model of a genetic regulatory network, consisting of a system of PL differential equations and inequality constraints on the parameter values, the method produces a graph of qualitative states and transitions between qualitative states, summarizing the qualitative dynamics of the system. The qualitative simulation method has been implemented in Java in the computer tool Genetic Network Analyzer.