The Feeding Behaviour of Bdellocephala Punctata, a Freshwater Triclad
- 1 August 1980
- Vol. 35 (1) , 2-7
- https://doi.org/10.2307/3544720
Abstract
B. punctata (Pallas), a freshwater triclad, is capable of capturing large, active prey such as the Crustacea Asellus and Daphnia but not large Gammarus; it will also take oligochaetes, chironomid larvae and some other prey but rejects gastropods. B. punctata feeds only on live or freshly damaged prey items. Mucus may be an aid to prey capture and the rate of capture may also be related to prey and predator size and density. Interpretation of results is affected by prey morphology and behavior. Contrasting results are observed with chironomid larvae and Asellus. Competition with other triclads is discussed. B. punctata adults are able to reduce competition with Planariidae and Dugesiidae by their greater ability to take active prey, but young B. punctata may suffer more severe competition from Polycelis. Although B. punctata shares feeding resources with Dendrocoelum lacteum (Muller) their different sizes would allow these triclads to specialize on different size classes of Asellus.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: