[APD] competition

["Steve Pushak" <teban at powersonic_bc.ca>]

How do algae and plants compete? Do they have little boxing gloves?

For that matter, how do bacteria compete?

Do they soak up all the mineralized nutrients to create a shortage that
suppresses the growth of the competition?

Do they compete solely by allelopathy? I find this difficult to believe.

Tom, you are espousing very frequent water changes; this would dissipate
allelopathic competition mechanisms. There seems to be scant evidence to
support allelopathic competition in aquatic plants.

Let's skip the anthropomorphic explanations and talk biological
mechanisms dag-nab-it! Let's get down to microscopic, cellular level and
lower. I want to learn something here!

What is the role of the algae & bacteria consumers? I think this may be
the key.

Allelopathy: "An interference interaction in which a plant releases into
the environment a compound that inhibits or stimulates the growth or
development of other plants."
www.agroecology.org/glossary/glossary_a_d.htm

Is it possible that macrophytes are stimulating growth of other
organisms, in particular algae consumers?

If you had no macrophytes in a tank and you provided mineralized
nutrients ala Tom B's protocol, would you still see progressive
development of a community of organisms that did not favour filament
algae?

Steve agitating in Vancouver ;-)

_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants