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Biomass Densities (biomass + density)
Selected AbstractsRetrodicting patch use by foraging swans in a heterogeneous environment using a set of functional responsesOIKOS, Issue 3 2009Bart A. Nolet Effective conservation of important bird areas requires insight in the number of birds an area can support, and how this carrying capacity changes with habitat modifications. When food depletion is the dominant mechanism of competition, it should in principle be possible to calculate the total time foragers can spend per patch from their functional response (intake rate as a function of food density). However, in the field there are likely to be factors modulating the functional response. In this study previously published results of experiments on captive Bewick's swans were used to obtain functional responses of swans digging for tubers of Fennel pondweed on different foraging substrates: sandy and clayey sediment, and in shallow and deep water. In a field study, four 250×250 m sections belonging to different types (sandy,shallow, clayey,shallow, sandy,deep and clayey,deep) were delineated. Here tubers were sampled with sediment corers in three years, both before and after swan exploitation in autumn, and swans were observed and mapped from a hide in two of these years. Giving-up tuber biomass densities varied among sections. Substitution of these giving-up densities in the derived patch-type-specific functional responses yielded the quitting net energy intake rates in the four sections. As expected from the marginal value theorem, the quitting net energy intake rates did not vary among sections. Moreover, the observed foraging pressure (total foraging time per area) per patch type was in quantitative agreement with the integrated functional responses. These results suggest that in spatially heterogeneous environments, patch exploitation by foragers can be predicted from their functional responses after accounting for foraging substrate. [source] Photosynthetic efficiency of Chlorella sorokiniana in a turbulently mixed short light-path photobioreactorBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2010Anna M. J. Kliphuis Abstract To be able to study the effect of mixing as well as any other parameter on productivity of algal cultures, we designed a lab-scale photobioreactor in which a short light path (SLP) of (12 mm) is combined with controlled mixing and aeration. Mixing is provided by rotating an inner tube in the cylindrical cultivation vessel creating Taylor vortex flow and as such mixing can be uncoupled from aeration. Gas exchange is monitored on-line to gain insight in growth and productivity. The maximal productivity, hence photosynthetic efficiency, of Chlorella sorokiniana cultures at high light intensities (1,500 ,mol m,1 s,1) was investigated in this Taylor vortex flow SLP photobioreactor. We performed duplicate batch experiments at three different mixing rates: 70, 110, and 140 rpm, all in the turbulent Taylor vortex flow regime. For the mixing rate of 140 rpm, we calculated a quantum requirement for oxygen evolution of 21.2 mol PAR photons per mol O2 and a yield of biomass on light energy of 0.8 g biomass per mol PAR photons. The maximal photosynthetic efficiency was found at relatively low biomass densities (2.3 g L,1) at which light was just attenuated before reaching the rear of the culture. When increasing the mixing rate twofold, we only found a small increase in productivity. On the basis of these results, we conclude that the maximal productivity and photosynthetic efficiency for C. sorokiniana can be found at that biomass concentration where no significant dark zone can develop and that the influence of mixing-induced light/dark fluctuations is marginal. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010 [source] Hairy Root Culture in a Liquid-Dispersed Bioreactor: Characterization of Spatial HeterogeneityBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2000Gary R. C. Williams A liquid-dispersed reactor equipped with a vertical mesh cylinder for inoculum support was developed for culture of Atropa belladonna hairy roots. The working volume of the culture vessel was 4.4 L with an aspect ratio of 1.7. Medium was dispersed as a spray onto the top of the root bed, and the roots grew radially outward from the central mesh cylinder to the vessel wall. Significant benefits in terms of liquid drainage and reduced interstitial liquid holdup were obtained using a vertical rather than horizontal support structure for the biomass and by operating the reactor with cocurrent air and liquid flow. With root growth, a pattern of spatial heterogeneity developed in the vessel. Higher local biomass densities, lower volumes of interstitial liquid, lower sugar concentrations, and higher root atropine contents were found in the upper sections of the root bed compared with the lower sections, suggesting a greater level of metabolic activity toward the top of the reactor. Although gas-liquid oxygen transfer to the spray droplets was very rapid, there was evidence of significant oxygen limitations in the reactor. Substantial volumes of non-free-draining interstitial liquid accumulated in the root bed. Roots near the bottom of the vessel trapped up to 3,4 times their own weight in liquid, thus eliminating the advantages of improved contact with the gas phase offered by liquid-dispersed culture systems. Local nutrient and product concentrations in the non-free-draining liquid were significantly different from those in the bulk medium, indicating poor liquid mixing within the root bed. Oxygen enrichment of the gas phase improved neither growth nor atropine production, highlighting the greater importance of liquid-solid compared with gas-liquid oxygen transfer resistance. The absence of mechanical or pneumatic agitation and the tendency of the root bed to accumulate liquid and impede drainage were identified as the major limitations to reactor performance. Improved reactor operating strategies and selection or development of root lines offering minimal resistance to liquid flow and low liquid retention characteristics are possible solutions to these problems. [source] Microscopic observation of aerobic granulation in sequential aerobic sludge blanket reactorJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2001J.-H. Tay Aims: This paper attempts to provide visual evidence of how aerobic granulation evolves in sequential aerobic sludge blanket reactors. Methods and Results: A series of experiments were conducted in two column-type sequential aerobic sludge reactors fed with glucose and acetate as sole carbon source, respectively. The evolution of aerobic granulation was monitored using image analysis and optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the formation of aerobic granules was a gradual process from seed sludge to compact aggregates, further to granular sludge and finally to mature granules with the sequential operation proceeding. Glucose- and acetate-fed granules have comparable characteristics in terms of settling velocity, size, shape, biomass density and microbial activity. However, the microbial diversity of the granules was associated with the carbon source supplied. In this work, an important aerobic starvation phase was identified during sequential operation cycles. It was found that periodical aerobic starvation was an effective trigger for microbial aggregation in the reactor and further strengthened cell,cell interaction to form dense aggregates, which was an essential step of granulation. The periodical starvation-induced aggregates would finally be shaped to granules by hydrodynamic shear and flow. Conclusions: Aerobic granules can be formed within 3 weeks in the systems. The periodical starvation and hydrodynamic conditions would play a crucial role in the granulation process. Significance and Impact of the Study: Aerobic granules have excellent physical characteristics as compared with conventional activated sludge flocs. This research could be helpful for the development of an aerobic granule-based novel type of reactor for handling high strength organic wastewater. [source] The influence of sediment type on the aggregative response of oystercatchers, Haematopus ostralegus, searching for cockles, Cerastoderma eduleOIKOS, Issue 1 2000Ian Johnstone Models that describe the dispersion patterns of predators between a series of patches that vary in prey density frequently assume that predators, in the absence of interference, will aggregate in patches with the highest prey density, at any point in time. This assumption has important implications for patterns of prey mortality, and the extent to which prey mortality is density dependent. In natural predator-prey systems, it is likely that environmental factors interact with spatial variation in prey density to influence the aggregative response of predators. We show data consistent with this idea on a population of overwintering oystercatchers foraging on cockles. There was no evidence that birds aggregated in patches with the highest biomass density of cockles. The biomass density of cockles was highest in muddy patches at the start of winter, and birds aggregated in patches that switched from being muddy at the start of winter to being sandy at some point during the winter. We argue that sediment type influences foraging costs experienced by the birds, so birds avoid feeding in muddy patches unless the fine sediment is removed from a patch, as happens during winter storms. When this happens a high biomass density of cockles suddenly becomes available and the birds aggregate in such patches. The rate of biomass loss was greatest in patches used intensively by birds for feeding, suggesting that the birds' aggregative response influences cockle mortality. We discuss the implications of our results for ideal free models. [source] Continuous plug-flow bioreactor: Experimental testing with Pseudomonas putida culture grown on benzoateBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 2 2005Yury Voloshin Abstract The goals of this work were to test the feasibility of a continuous plug-flow (PF) bioreactor and to compare the growth in the PF bioreactor to that in a batch bioreactor. A culture of Pseudomonas putida was pumped through a tube made of Teflon with varying residence times. The culture was aerated by pumping of air simultaneously with liquid medium to provide air bubbles along the tubular culture. When the residence time in the PF bioreactor was greater than the time needed to reach the stationary phase in batch mode, the maximum biomass density reached in PF mode was the same as the maximum density reached in the batch bioreactor, and benzoate (the only carbon and energy source) was completely consumed. The drawbacks for practical application of PF were found to be fluctuations of cell concentration in the outflow cultural liquid due to cell aggregation, significant cell adhesion to the inner wall of Teflon tubing, and inadequate aeration. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||