Association between competition and obligate mutualism in a chemostat.

In this paper, we consider a simple chemostat model involving two obligate mutualistic species feeding on a limiting substrate. Systems of differential equations are proposed as models of this association. A detailed qualitative analysis is carried out. We show the existence of a domain of coexistence, which is a set of initial conditions in which both species survive. We demonstrate, under certain supplementary assumptions, the uniqueness of the stable equilibrium point which corresponds to the coexistence of the two species.