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Populations Of Peritrichs On The Pond Snail, Physa Gyrina Say, Peter Moyle

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

There are many obscure niches in a, pond that make fascinating ecological studies. The shell of a pond snail such as Physa gyrina Say, is one of these. In this study alone, 18 species of attached animals and plants were found growing on P; gyrina shells. About half of these species occurred on the shells in large numbers and completed a large part of their life cycle there. On P. gyrina, the most abundant animals included three species of protowans and a tendipedid larva. The protozoan species, Epistylus niagarae Stokes, Opercularia ramosa Stokes, and V orticella campanula Ehrenberg all belong …