Abstract
Larvae of the microcaddisflies Hydroptila waubesiana Betten and Oxyethira pallida (Banks) were given monocultures of eight genera of algae to test their suitability as food sources, and to investigate the degree of trophic specialization exhibited by these larvae. Only those larvae given green algae (Chlorophyta) survived and emerged as adults. Oxyethira pallida consumed Zygnema and Spirogyra, and exhibited the shortest larval-pupal period on Spirogyra (P < 0.05). Similarly, H. waubesiana consumed Zygnema and Cladophora, but exhibited the shortest larval-pupal period on Cladophora (P < 0.001). Diatoms and Hydrodictyon allowed H. waubesiana to attain partial growth only, while O. pallida did not consume either alga. Oscillatoria and Anabaena were not consumed by either species. The larvae of the two species tested appear to obtain adequate nourishment from only a narrow spectrum of algae, and one alga allowed significantly faster growth compared to the others tested in each case.
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Keiper, J.B., Casamatta, D.A. & Foote, B.A. Use of algal monocultures by larvae of Hydroptila waubesiana and Oxyethira pallida (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae). Hydrobiologia 380, 87–91 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003468432655
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003468432655