Some Factors Affecting Survival of Desiccation by Infective Juveniles of Orrina phyllobia

Authors

  • A. F. Robinson
  • C. C. Orr
  • C. E. Heintz

Abstract

The survival of desiccation by J4 Orrina phyllobia was examined at controlled relative humidities. When nematodes were transferred from water to air at 10% relative humidity (rh), 80% died within 30 minutes. When nematodes were transferred from water to air with rh at 70% or greater for ca. 15 minutes prior to being transferred to 10% rh, more than 90% of them survived desiccation. This phenomenon is referred to as preconditioning and occurred at much faster rates (2-30 minutes) than has been observed for other nematode species (24 hours). Differences in preconditioning rates may be due to technique-dependent variations in boundary layer resistance around nematodes during desiccation. Key words: anhydrobiosis, relative humidity.

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Published

1984-01-15

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Section

Articles