The effect of constant and changing temperatures on the development rates of the eggs and larvae of Ostertagia ostertagi

Abstract

The duration of the egg stage at constant temperature showed a decrease with increasing constant temperature up to 30°; above this, there was a slight increase in the duration and a decrease in survival. Regularly changing temperature had a slight but significant retarding effect on egg duration in one experiment but in the second, there was no significant effect. In two experiments in which there were two sudden changes of temperature in the same direction, there was no significant effect. The duration of the larval stages from hatching up to the third stage showed a decline with increasing constant temperature up to 25°. Survival was poor at 30°. The larvae were fed on E. coli cultures. In the regularly changing experiments on the larvae one showed a slight retardation and the second an acceleration in development. Both were significant ( P < .05). In the experiments in which temperature changed in two sudden jumps in the same direction, one showed a slight acceleration and the other showed no effect. It is concluded that the effects of changing temperature while significant are probably not large enought to be of significance in nature. Newly hatched and third stage larvae grown at constant temperatures showed a tendency to be longer at higher temperatures.