Rate of short‐term colonization and distribution of leeches (Clitellata: Hirudinida) on artificial substrates

Autor: Żaneta Adamiak-Brud, Izabela Jabłońska-Barna, Aleksander Bielecki, Jarosław Kobak
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Zoology. 299:191-201
ISSN: 1469-7998
0952-8369
DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12341
Popis: Leeches are important members of communities developing on submerged hard substrates. We studied patterns of leech colonization and distribution on artificial substrates, which became more and more common in aquatic ecosystems. We deployed substrates on lake bottom and collected them over a 30-day period to test the effect of exposure time, orientation in space (upward/downward), surface zone (edge/middle position), as well as interactions among leech individuals with other invertebrates. The results show that the rate of leech colonization depended on exposure time. Leech abundance grew intensively until reaching a stabilization state. The first colonizers were Erpobdellidae species and Helobdella sp. (after 2 days of exposure), whereas the rest of taxa from the Glossiphoniidae family appeared later (7–14 days). Leeches more readily inhabited substratum edges and surfaces directed downwards, than the middle zones and the surfaces facing upwards. Their distribution was contiguous and the tendency for group formation increased with the increasing density. Leeches mostly created small (2–3 individuals), mono or multispecies (groups of individuals less than 2 cm apart) agglomerations on artificial substrates. However, we did not find any relationship between the potential food resources occurring on the plates and leech abundance. Our study shows that leeches are fast colonizers of artificial substrates, with the most important factors affecting their recruitment and distribution including movement and feeding modes, occurrence of other leech individuals on the plates, taxonomic composition of leeches in the surrounding area, substratum orientation and the presence of surface irregularities (edges).
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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