The Life History of the Leech Erpobdella testacea Sav. and Its Adaptive Significance
- 1 January 1961
- Vol. 12 (1) , 164-+
- https://doi.org/10.2307/3565177
Abstract
Breeding of Erpobdella testacea begins in March. After depositing cocoons, the adults die. Newly hatched young first appear in June. In contrast to E octoculata, individuals of E testacea are able to withstand rather low concentrations of O2 E testacea can compete with E. octoculata only in small ponds where the summer O2 content is very low. The death of the adults of the former sp., after breeding in spring when the O2 content is high, results in the lack of large specimens during periods of low oxygen. The smaller young have a large surface: volume ratio, which would aid in the obtaining of the small available quantities of O2.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: