Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 683

Elizabeth J. Walsh; Oviposition behavior of the littoral rotifer Euchlanis dilatata. Hydrobiologia 186/187:157-161, 1989

Reprint

In File

Notes

Several components of egg-laying behavior in 3 clones of E. dilatata were investigated. Using nearest-neighbor analyses it was shown that individual animals lay their eggs randomly within culture dishes in the absence of artifical substrate while eggs laid in the presence of a substrate are clumped in 2 of the 3 clones studied. Animals perferentially oviposited on artifical substrates containing eggs when given a choice between artificial substrates with and without eggs of conspecifics. When given a choice of natural substrates, animals consistently laid more eggs on the plant species from which they were collected. This preference persisted for 2 generations after animals had been removed which they were addition, observations of neonate hatching behavior demonstrated that neonates often spend relatively long times in the immediate vicinity of hatching.