Trade-Offs of Chemotactic Foraging in Turbulent Water

Bacteria play an indispensable role in marine biogeochemistry by recycling dissolved organic matter. Motile species can exploit small, ephemeral solute patches through chemotaxis and thereby gain a fitness advantage over nonmotile competitors. This competition occurs in a turbulent environment yet t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2012-11, Vol.338 (6107), p.675-679
Main Authors: Taylor, John R., Stocker, Roman
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Bacteria
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
Biological and medical sciences
Cetacea
Chemical oceanography
Chemotaxis
Computer Simulation
Cost efficiency
Ecosystem
Foraging
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geochemistry
Marine
Microbial ecology
Microbial Interactions
Movement
Nutrient uptake
Oceans
Sea water
Seawater - microbiology
Speed
Swimming
Turbulence
Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water)
Water Movements
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Summary:Bacteria play an indispensable role in marine biogeochemistry by recycling dissolved organic matter. Motile species can exploit small, ephemeral solute patches through chemotaxis and thereby gain a fitness advantage over nonmotile competitors. This competition occurs in a turbulent environment yet turbulence is generally considered inconsequential for bacterial uptake. In contrast, we show that turbulence affects uptake by stirring nutrient patches into networks of thin filaments that motile bacteria can readily exploit. We find that chemotactic motility is subject to a trade-off between the uptake benefit due to chemotaxis and the cost of locomotion, resulting in an optimal swimming speed. A second trade-off results from the competing effects of stirring and mixing and leads to the prediction that chemotaxis is optimally favored at intermediate turbulence intensities.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1219417