Figure 1: Environmental deterioration leads to a surprising increase in the producer population size preceding collapse of a producer-freeloader ecosystem.
From: Dynamics of a producer-freeloader ecosystem on the brink of collapse
(a) Yeast populations were grown in sucrose media and subjected to a range of daily dilution factors. Experiments were started with identical initial concentrations of producers (which carry the gene SUC2 required for sucrose break down) and freeloaders (SUC2 knockouts). (b) The equilibrium population density of the producer (green) and freeloader (red) populations as a function of dilution factor. Error bars represent s.e.m. (n=20). The producer population size increases as the environment deteriorates, highlighting that population size is not always a reliable indicator of population health.
