Abstract
Population growth profiles of Caenorhabditis elegans and Panagrellus redivivus constructed from length frequencies have a number of steps in them coinciding with the number of extrauterine moults. Each step has a constant size relationship with that of one of the midmoults measured directly.The profiles could only have the shape they do if there are corresponding steps in the true growth curve of individual worms: the fact that previous workers have been unable to detect these steps being due to the limitations of techniques available for the study of synchronous and individual growth curves. Nevertheless, a synchronous system with Trichostrongylus retortaeformis gives qualitative support to the findings from population profiles.The population growth profile is a new tool in the study of environmental effects on moulting, though there are theoretical reasons why the true growth curve cannot be derived from it.Abandonment of the “continuous growth” model for post‐embryonic development simplifies the framing of hypotheses to explain ecdysis in nematodes.
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