title: The impact of resource dependence of the mechanisms of life on the spatial population dynamics of an in silico microbial community.
abstract: Biodiversity has a critical impact on ecosystem functionality and stability, and thus the current biodiversity crisis has motivated many studies of the mechanisms that sustain biodiversity, a notable example being non-transitive or cyclic competition. We therefore extend existing microscopic models of communities with cyclic competition by incorporating resource dependence in demographic processes, characteristics of natural systems often oversimplified or overlooked by modellers. The spatially explicit nature of our individual-based model of three interacting species results in the formation of stable spatial structures, which have significant effects on community functioning, in agreement with experimental observations of pattern formation in microbial communities.
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Aisling J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Baetens
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Baets
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics