ABSTRACTThe short‐ and long‐term uptake of nitrate and phosphate ions, and their interactions, were studied as functions of the preconditioning ofPavlova lutheri(Droop) Green. Populations were preconditioned in continuous culture at a variety of growth rates and N:P supply ratios. The maximum uptake rates cell−1for nitrate and phosphate were of similar magnitudes, in spite of the forty‐fold smaller requirement for phosphorus. Short‐term phosphate uptake was independent of the nitrate concentration, but the short‐term nitrate uptake rate was reduced in the presence of phosphate. The severity of inhibition of nitrate uptake by phosphate was positively correlated with the preconditioning N:P supply ratio and the preconditioning growth rate. In response to large additions of nutrients,P. lutheriwas able to increase its phosphorus content sixty‐fold, but was only able to take up enough nitrate to double its nitrogen content. The high rate of phosphate uptake relative to its requirement, the inhibition of nitrate uptake by phosphate, and the large capacity for phosphorus storage relative to its requirement, all of which were observed even under N limitation, may imply that even where nitrogen is limiting there can be interspecific competition for availa