Effect of blood of different vertebrates on reproductive parameters of Hirudo orientalis

Among freshwater invertebrates, leeches are one of the main groups of the world's most widely distributed water resources communities, found in almost all types of freshwater habitats. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different blood treatments on the reproduction parameters of Caspian leeches, has been done with three repetitions in the year 2019.

In each replication, 10 progenitors were bred over a 5 month period, and once they were fed with blood treatments. At the end of the period, the number of cocoons and larvae were counted and the length, weight and diameter characteristics of the cocoons were measured.

The results showed that in the growth parameters, including the final weight of the generators, the percentage of body weight gain and the specific growth coefficient in chicken (3.06، 461.5، 0.086) and horse (5.22، 857.2، 0.113) treatments were the lowest and highest, respectively (p<0.05). The results of the parameters of reproduction including weight, diameter and length of cocoons in different treatments showed that in chicken (0.205، 0.6، 0.6) and horse (0.785،1.16، 1.5) treatments were the lowest and highest values, respectively (p<0.05). The amount of protein that can be absorbed has also been shown to be almost standard in cow and horse blood.

Based on the results of this experiment and according to the studied parameters, horse and cow blood had the best performance and sheep and chicken treatments are not suitable for the reproduction of Caspian leeches.