MODELLING THE GROWTH OF AN OLIGOCHAETE ON ACTIVATED SLUDGE

Abstract A dynamic energy-budget model (DEB model) was extended to describe the growth of Nais elinguis , a common oligochaete species frequently occurring in sewage treatment plants. Nais elinguis reproduces asexually by dividing into an anterior and a posterior naidid. The daughter naidids initially have different growth rates due to differences in energy reserves. The fit of the model showed a good description of the length measurements. The parameters of the model, such as maintenance rate coefficient and energy conductance, which represent physiological features of the organisms, facilitate insight into the processes underlying naidid growth. A numerical method was developed to predict asexual reproduction. The presented model is a first step towards a more comprehensive knowledge and modelling of organisms in an activated sludge plant and is therefore interesting from a wastewater management point of view.

[1]  Sebastiaan A.L.M. Kooijman,et al.  Application of a dynamic energy budget model to Mytilus edulis (L.) , 1993 .

[2]  P. Verdonschot.  The role of oligochaetes in the management of waters , 1989 .

[3]  S. Kooijman,et al.  Application of a Dynamic Energy Budget Model to Lymnaea stagnalis (L.) , 1989 .

[4]  James C. Frauenthal,et al.  Analysis of Age-Structure Models , 1986 .

[5]  J. Fry,et al.  Digestion of bacteria by Nais variabilis (Oligochaeta) as established by autoradiography , 1981 .

[6]  Samuel Glasstone,et al.  The Theory Of Rate Processes , 1941 .

[7]  Sebastiaan A.L.M. Kooijman,et al.  Microbial growth dynamics on the basis of individual budgets. , 1991 .

[8]  V. Goubier,et al.  Intrinsic and extrinsic variables controlling the productivity of asexual populations of Nais spp, (Naididae, Oligochaeta) , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[9]  Sebastiaan A.L.M. Kooijman,et al.  Existence and Stability of Microbial Prey-Predator Systems , 1994 .

[10]  C. Little.  Ecophysiology of Nais elinguis (Oligochaeta) in a brackish-water lagoon , 1984 .

[11]  M. A. Learner,et al.  A review of the biology of British Naididae (Oligochaeta) with emphasis on the lotic environment , 1978 .

[12]  D. Barthélémy,et al.  Intrinsic and extrinsic variables controlling the productivity of asexual populations of Nais spp, (Naididae, Oligochaeta) , 1989 .

[13]  Peter A. Jumars,et al.  Supply-Side Optimization: Maximizing Absorptive Rates , 1990 .

[14]  S. Kooijman,et al.  What the hen can tell about her eggs: egg development on the basis of energy budgets , 1986, Journal of mathematical biology.

[15]  M. A. Learner.  The distribution and ecology of the naididae (oligochaeta) which inhabit the filter-beds of sewage-works in Britain , 1979 .

[16]  Peter A. Jumars,et al.  Modeling Animal Guts as Chemical Reactors , 1987, The American Naturalist.

[17]  Mark Woombs,et al.  The role of nematodes in low rate percolating filter sewage treatment works , 1986 .

[18]  S. A. L. M. Kooijman,et al.  Feeding, Digestion and Oxygen Consumption in Daphnia Magna a Study in Energy Budgets , 1988 .

[19]  Sebastiaan A.L.M. Kooijman,et al.  Energy budgets can explain body size relations , 1986 .

[20]  J. Fry,et al.  A bacteriological investigation to elucidate the feeding biology of Nais variabilis (Oligochaeta: Naididae) , 1981 .

[21]  Peter A. Jumars,et al.  Chemical Reactor Analysis and Optimal DigestionAn optimal digestion theory can be readily derived from basic principles of chemical reactor analysis and design , 1986 .

[22]  H. A. Hawkes,et al.  Ecological Aspects of Used-Water Treatment , 1984 .