Abstract
The tubificids play an important role as indicator organisms in the saprobial system. Less important than the species or genera present is the total number of individuals. The more organic enrichment in a sediment, the greater the number of tubificids, coincident with the disappearance of other benthic groups. Especially in polysaprobial waters, the fauna is limited to “lawns” of tubificids, which are chiefly involved with the remineralization of the detritus.
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References
Caspers, H., 1964, Limitierenda Faktoren in übervölkerten Lebensraümen des Timnischen und marinen Benthos. Mitt. Hamburg Zool. Mus. Inst., 61 (Suppl.):1–13.
Caspers, H., and H. Schulz, 1964, Die biologischen Verhältnisse der Elbe bei Hamburg. Arch. Hydrobiol., 60:53–88.
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© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
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Caspers, H. (1980). The Relationship of Saprobial Conditions to Massive Populations of Tubificids. In: Brinkhurst, R.O., Cook, D.G. (eds) Aquatic Oligochaete Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3048-6_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3048-6_26
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