Ref ID : 1751
G.W. Yeates; Nematode feeding and activity: the importance of development stages. Biol.Fertil.Soils 3:143-146, 1987
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Nematodes have four juvenile stages and there is significant growth during development. The stages may differ in their respiratory and metabolic rates, and one stage may have significantly greater resistance to environmental stress. The mode of life of successive stages may vary from migratory to sessile. In both the Diplogasterida and Mononchida initial stages may be bacterial-feeding and later stage predatory on protozoa or nematodes. If the role of nematode species in promoting mineralization of nutrients is to be fully understood it is necessary to determine the trophic and metabolic characters of each stage under field conditions.