A series of chemostat experiments demonstrated the following relationship between phytoplankton growth rate and nitrogen concentrations. N (MM) 4 (d2) 0.5 0.68 1 1.08 2 1.19 5 1.86 10 1.94 20 2.02 a) From this data, determine the maximum specific growth rate (u max) and the nitrogen half sat- uration constant (kn). b) Using your result from a) and assuming balanced growth (Redfield Ratio) write down a series of dif- ferential equations describing changes in phytoplankton biomass, dissolved nitrogen, and dissolved phosphate. Assume only nitrogen limitation. c) Assume that just before a phytoplankton bloom the concentration of phytoplankton is 1.9 uM of C, the concentration of nitrate in the water is 10 uM, and that of phosphate is 1.8 uM, using your equations from part b) calculate the concentrations of phytoplankton, nitrate, and phosphate every hour for a period of 3 days. Ignore the effects of grazers, loss terms such as sinking, and variations in growth rate due to solar irradiance. Plot your results. d) What is the phosphate concentration at the end of your simulation? A series of chemostat experiments demonstrated the following relationship between phytoplankton growth rate and nitrogen concentrations. N (MM) 4 (d2) 0.5 0.68 1 1.08 2 1.19 5 1.86 10 1.94 20 2.02 a) From this data, determine the maximum specific growth rate (u max) and the nitrogen half sat- uration constant (kn). b) Using your result from a) and assuming balanced growth (Redfield Ratio) write down a series of dif- ferential equations describing changes in phytoplankton biomass, dissolved nitrogen, and dissolved phosphate. Assume only nitrogen limitation. c) Assume that just before a phytoplankton bloom the concentration of phytoplankton is 1.9 uM of C, the concentration of nitrate in the water is 10 uM, and that of phosphate is 1.8 uM, using your equations from part b) calculate the concentrations of phytoplankton, nitrate, and phosphate every hour for a period of 3 days. Ignore the effects of grazers, loss terms such as sinking, and variations in growth rate due to solar irradiance. Plot your results. d) What is the phosphate concentration at the end of your simulation
