a School of Pure and Applied Biology , University of Wales Cardiff , Cardiff , CF1 3TL , UK.
Biofouling. 1996;10(1-3):43-63. doi: 10.1080/08927019609386270.
Biofilm formation is discussed in terms of the ecological processes involved in their formation. It is emphasised that any cell responds to its environment i.e. to the composition of a liquid layer a few microns thick adjacent to the cell surface. The concept of multidimensional habitat domains defining the growth limits to every species is introduced, and put into the context of competition between different organisms. Activity domains of organisms are discussed and a definition for the niche of an organism introduced. The development of a biofilm on a clean surface is described. The constant depth film fermenter is introduced as an appropriate tool for investigating spatial and temporal sequence in biofilm formation. Finally, nutrient concentration is considered and the effects of diffusion limitation on film structure explored with the aid of a cellular automaton model.
生物膜的形成是从其形成所涉及的生态过程来讨论的。需要强调的是，任何细胞都会对其所处的环境（即细胞表面附近几微米厚的液体层的组成）做出反应。引入了多维栖息地域的概念，以定义每个物种的生长极限，并将其置于不同生物之间的竞争背景下。讨论了生物体的活动域，并引入了生物体生态位的定义。描述了在清洁表面上生物膜的形成过程。引入恒深膜发酵器作为研究生物膜形成时空顺序的合适工具。最后，考虑了营养浓度，并借助元胞自动机模型探讨了扩散限制对膜结构的影响。
