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Self‐Inhibition of Egg Laying in Physa sp. (A Freshwater Pulmonate)
Author(s) -
Chaudhry M. Asghar
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
acta zoologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.414
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1463-6395
pISSN - 0001-7272
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-6395.1986.tb00870.x
Subject(s) - biology , snail , fecundity , incubation , freshwater snail , zoology , protease , ecology , biochemistry , population , enzyme , demography , sociology
Factors affecting the fecundity of Physa sp. were studied in the laboratory. Aging of the culture medium resulted in a significant decline in oviposition of this snail species. Changes in ionic levels of the rearing water did not seem to affect egg laying under the experimental conditions. Conspecific snail‐conditioned water and faecal homogenates to some extent effectively inhibited oviposition, but spinach infusion had no such effect. The results are consistent with the suggestion that some sort of oviposition inhibitor(s) is released by the snails in the culture water. The inhibitor compound(s) is denatured on boiling or after incubation with a protease.