Summary
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1.
The intrinsic rate of natural increase, rm, of the planorbid snail Biomphalaria pfeifferi, was estimated in a series of culture media with differing concentrations of calcium bicarbonate. These gave a range from very soft to distinctly hard water.
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2.
rm values were obtained from cohorts of snails from two widely separated streams, in different catchments, and these were compared with results obtained by Williams (1970b) from a third stream. All three were near Salisbury, Rhodesia, but they had markedly different calcium bicarbonate concentrations.
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3.
Snails from all three demes gave a similar pattern of rm values and highest values were obtained from a culture water containing 12 mg/l of calcium as Ca++, and 35 mg/l bicarbonate as CaCO3, here classified as water of ‘medium’ hardness. This was in spite of the fact that two of the demes came from distinctly harder water.
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4.
Apart from this overall similarity the three demes showed differences in egg-laying and survivorship patterns.
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5.
The significance of these results is discussed.
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Harrison, A.D., Williams, N.V. & Greig, G. Studies on the effects of calcium bicarbonate concentrations on the biology of biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata). Hydrobiologia 36, 317–327 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00035330
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00035330