The effects of crowding on adults of Philophthalmus nocturnus grown in domestic chicks

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe effects of crowding on growth, reproduction, rate of recovery and site of infection of Philophthalmus nocturnus were investigated by infecting various groups of day-old chicks with 25, 50,75, or 100 excysted metacercariae and examining them at 10 or 25 days post-infection. Considerable reduction in the body length and the size of the gonads was noticed in flukes grown under crowded conditions. Crowding also caused some change in the habitat of flukes, but had no effect on their rate of recovery. Very few flukes reached the ovigerous stage under overcrowded conditions and none reached the embryonated larval stage.