Medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis): a case study of habitat preferences and variability of ventral coloration
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | This study deals with the habitat preferences of medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758 in the Czech Republic. Division of localities based on aquatic vegetation (TWINSPAN) formed groups of localities which corresponded to the population sizes of H. medicinalis. According to the abiotic factors localities with H. medicinalis were rich in carbon, poor in oxygen and situated in an area with warm climate. In this study four different ventral color patterns were described. During the ontogenetic development ventral side becomes darker, as indicated by the significant relationship between the percentage of dark color and leech size. |
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