ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the application of differential and integral equations in the context of quantifying the fungal population in the rumen ecosystem. An understanding of the fungal life cycle and its role within the rumen is necessary to the presentation of this model. The rumen is an open ecosystem in which the continuity of dietary inputs, passage of liquid and solids, and absorption of fermentation end products ensures a relatively unchanging environment. While several procedures can be used to accomplish some degree of quantification of the fungal population in the rumen, none is wholly suitable for enumeration of fungal thalli or estimation of biomass. The rumen fungi are highly fibrolytic microorganisms, producing a wide range of cell-bound and cell-free glycolytic, cellulolytic, and hemicellulolytic enzymes. In ruminants fed on fibrous diets, a substantial proportion of the plant fragments that enter the rumen is rapidly and extensively colonized by large populations of anaerobic fungi.
