  We present models of dormancy in a planktonic culture and in biofilm, and
examine the relative advantage of short dormancy versus long dormancy times in
each case. Simulations and analyses indicate that in planktonic batch cultures
and in chemostats, live biomass is maximized by the fastest possible exit from
dormancy. The lower limit of time to reawakening is thus perhaps governed by
physiological, biochemical or other constraints within the cells. In biofilm we
see that the slower waker has a defensive advantage over the fast waker due to
a larger amount of dormant biomass, without an appreciable difference in total
live biomass. Thus it would seem that typical laboratory culture conditions can
be unrepresentative of the natural state. We discuss the computational methods
developed for this work.
