Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers
Published on: May 28, 2007
Competition between heterotrophic and autotrophic microplankton for dissolved nutrients
E J Brown1, D K Button, D S Lang
1University of Alaska, 99701, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Abstract:
When a heterotrophic (Rhodotorula rubra) and a phototrophic (Selenastrum capricornutum) plankton were grown together in dilute phosphate (Pi) continuous cultures, coexistence occurred only when the heterotroph was growthrate limited by organic carbon (C). Because of its higher affinity for Pi, and because C starvation does not affect the heterotrophic yeast's ability to transport Pi, the concentration of organic carbon indirectly controlled the biomass of the phototroph. The results support a threshold model of microbial growth.
More Related Videos
11:47Concentration of Metabolites from Low-density Planktonic Communities for Environmental Metabolomics using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Published on: April 7, 2012
10:11The Benthic Exchange of O2, N2 and Dissolved Nutrients Using Small Core Incubations
Published on: August 3, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Interactions: Competition
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Marine Microbial Ecology
Microbial Nutrition
Microenvironments
Microbial Mats