Influence of temperature on the reproductive potential of Oncholaimus oxyuris (Nematoda: Oncholaimidae)
Heip, C.H.R.; Smol, N.; Absillis, V. (1978). Influence of temperature on the reproductive potential of Oncholaimus oxyuris (Nematoda: Oncholaimidae). Mar. Biol. (Berl.) 45(3): 255-260. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00390608 In: Marine Biology: International Journal on Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 0025-3162; e-ISSN 1432-1793, more | |
Keywords | Marine/Coastal; Brackish water |
Authors | | Top | - Heip, C.H.R., more
- Smol, N., more
- Absillis, V.
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Abstract | The large nematode Oncholaimus oxyuris Ditlevsen, 1911 is a dominant predator in a shallow polyhaline brackish-water pond in Belgium. The reproductive potential of this species was calculated as the intrinsic rate of natural increase r = 1/G ln pNe, in which D is the generation time, p is the percentage of females, and Ne is the number of eggs per female. The generation time varies between 570 days at 5°C and 101 days at 25°C and is the main factor in the determination of r. The relationship between r and temperature is nearly linear and is given by r = 0.0013 T - 0.0042. The reproductive potential of O. oxyuris is much lower than would be predicted from body size; this, and the dominance of males in the population, is discussed in the light of the evolution of stable predator-prey systems. |
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