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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 5898

Carla Bonacina, Giuliano Bonomi, and Carlo Monti; Population analysis in mass cultures of Tubifex tubifex. Hydrobiologia 180:127-134, 1989

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Mass cultures of Tubifex tubifex from Lake Orta were kept in the lab at 20 degrees C starting with different initial densities (10, 45, 86, 161 ind. jar-1), with the aim of evaluating the effect of density population numbers and on population parameters. The results show that density mainly controls fecundity, growth, maturation and ovigeration rates. Growth rates and mean number of eggs laid/ovigerous (Ro) are inversely related to density, but generation time appears to be directly related. Very low or very high initial densities display, at different times of the culture history, efficient density controls. Intermediate N(o) seem to bring about situations of bad control, easily leading to numerical overshoots. A possible implementation of a population dynamics model (Bonomi & Di Cola, 1980), originally used for laboratory observations on T. tubifex cohorts was considered, including some density control functions derived from our observations on cohort and mass cultures in some transfer rates and in fecundity rate.