Observations on the Biology of the Marine Oligochaete <i>Tubifex Costatus</i>

Abstract

Tubifex costatus is a marine euryhaline species of tubificid, commonly found in brackish water. It is common in estuaries, where it colonizes a wide variety of substrata. The species breeds sexually once a year in early summer, and it is likely that it takes 2 years to reach maturity, and after breeding it dies. There is only one likely predator, Nereis diversicolor , and the population of T. costatus seems to be kept at a very constant level.