reply to post by Cauch1
That's exactly what I said, too.
I've been doing a ton of research on tubifex because of this video.
They can create protective cysts, supposedly.
www.bioone.org...
All specimens of the two species in which cyst formation was observed had been collected after drying conditions ranging from 14 to 28 days.
... The development of protective cysts by Dero multibranchiata and Trieminentia corderoi, and perhaps many other species of aquatic oligochaetes,
appears to be an adaptive strategy enabling them to survive drought in temporary wetlands, recolonize freshwater habitats upon inundation, and
disperse both laterally and downstream with rising water levels in wetlands and streams.
But I can't find pictures of these tubifex cysts anywhere. Or video. Or anything, really. If I knew what they looked like, I might settle with that
explanation. But I really can't find any evidence of it, and none of the tubifex evidence in this thread has me convinced at all.
I've read a ton of abstracts and I can't figure out if the cysts have that sort of movement or not. I'd tend to think not! Especially because they
lower their metabolic rate when that happens. It would be like hibernation. I'm not going to rule it out, but I don't have access to most of the
full studies done on tubifex and I'm not about to pay for access.
blog.taragana.com...
This says that it's tubifex, but the pictures in that page were not in the video. I'm not saying tubifex doesn't exist down there, that's just not
what I saw.
If someone can show me a visual example of a tubifex cyst, I'd be in good shape.