Interspecific Competition Between Levanderina fissa (Dinophyceae) and the Other Three Microalgal Species in Co-Cultures

Growth interactions between the dinoflagellate Levanderina fissa (=Gyrodinium instriatum) and the other three algal bloom species Skeletonema costatum (Bacillariophyceae), Prorocentrum micans (Dinophyceae), and Chattonella marina (Raphidophyceae) were studied using bi- or tri-algal co-cultures under laboratory conditions. The Lotka-Volterra model was applied to estimate the interspecific competition between them. Results showed that the growth of L. fissa was significantly suppressed in both bi-algal and tri-algal cultures, and the maximum cell densities in co-cultures were only between 21% and 69% of that in mono-culture. L. fissa outcompeted P. micans; however, its effects on S. costatum and C. marina were generally less than the effects of their intraspecific competitions based on the competition coefficients. Contrarily, the inhibitory effects of S. costatum and C. marina on L. fissa were much greater. S. costatum outcompeted the other three species in all co-cultures, and its competition coefficients on the other species were more than 10000 times higher than the opposite. The growth of C. marina was suppressed by S. costatum; however, it outcompeted L. fissa and P. micans. The growth of P. micans was most strongly inhibited in co-cultures, and the maximum cell densities in co-cultures were less than 15% of that in mono-species culture. The results suggested that L. fissa had few advantages in the interspecific competition. The adaptation to low salinity and the utilization of organic phosphorus might be the important reasons for L. fissa to take the competitive predominance in brackish estuarine environments.