Bushwalk Australia

Over the dinner table, having a discussion trying to work out where the Leech sits in the food chain.
Does it have any natural predators?

The boot

I would have thought birds would love them?

Google says fish oh and the food chain is called the food web these days!

tasadam wrote:Over the dinner table, having a discussion trying to work out where the Leech sits in the food chain.
Does it have any natural predators?

Ants and Ants +Ants,
Have a close look at non Aquatic beings and Ants Rule - At Pelion Gap I observed Ants eating a live Leech what more can I say
corvus

From the Australian Museum website:

Predators, Parasites and Diseases

Fish, birds and other invertebrates are the main predators on leeches.

Here is an interesting story about leeches. Taking up this idea, PWS should invest in a study of Tasmania leeches. It could be used to prove the existence of foxes and they might even find a Tiger.

Sorry Adam, doesn't answer the question.

doogs wrote:Google says fish oh and the food chain is called the food web these days!

I thought only spiders thought of it like that .

What eats dead creatures ANTS

corvus

corvus wrote:At Pelion Gap I observed Ants eating a live Leech

Had the said leech had a feed of blood recently? No way of knowing for sure, but I would have thought an ant would need something more than a leech to attract it, as ants are so prolific, you'd think there would be a lot less leeches if ants readily ate them.

tasadam wrote:

corvus wrote:At Pelion Gap I observed Ants eating a live Leech

Had the said leech had a feed of blood recently? No way of knowing for sure, but I would have thought an ant would need something more than a leech to attract it, as ants are so prolific, you'd think there would be a lot less leeches if ants readily ate them.

Said Leech had a bit of size so I suspect it did have a wee feed of blood however as Pelion Gap apparently now has a good food supply for Rodents there must be plenty of fodder for Omnivorous Ants including "black pudding" ie a rodent blood infused Leech

matagi wrote:From the Australian Museum website:

Predators, Parasites and Diseases

Fish, birds and other invertebrates are the main predators on leeches.

Note to self: borrow a pet budgie for my next wet walk

Tortoise wrote:

matagi wrote:From the Australian Museum website:

Predators, Parasites and Diseases

Fish, birds and other invertebrates are the main predators on leeches.

Note to self: borrow a pet budgie for my next wet walk

Given the number of leeches one can potentially acquire whilst ambling through the Tassie bush - you'd better make that a flock of budgies!

doogs wrote:Google says fish oh and the food chain is called the food web these days!

a food chain is not a food web, a food web contains many food chains... with increasing understanding of the interconnectedness of organisms, both concepts(based on predator prey relationships rather than symbiosis) are a little dated due to the apparent simplicity they show regarding the flow of energy and matter in ecosytems. a leech for instance, cannot be a leech unless it has certain microorganisms living in inside.

jackhinde wrote: a leech for instance, cannot be a leech unless it has certain microorganisms living in inside.

Huh? So whats the point in taxonomy?

Hi Bushwalk.com,
I am interested in finding out 'what preys on leeches or if they have any predators' and the only thing I have found out from your forum is the users who have responded have no idea. Great forum!! PS when I have come across a leech I have found no sign of any fish or ants!!!! which you imply are predators ... Do I need to carry my leech to the fish? I would appreciate a helpful answer from a forum which I hoped would be informative.

hhmmm wrote:Hi Bushwalk.com,
I am interested in finding out 'what preys on leeches or if they have any predators' and the only thing I have found out from your forum is the users who have responded have no idea. Great forum!! PS when I have come across a leech I have found no sign of any fish or ants!!!! which you imply are predators ... Do I need to carry my leech to the fish? I would appreciate a helpful answer from a forum which I hoped would be informative.

Were you tired, grumpy, tipsy or something when you wrote that post? Do I smell attitooood??!! Nope, (that's my Boxing Day lunch)....but I'm certainly reading it!!

One of the previous posts referenced the Australian Museum... please appreciate that snippet of help and direction for starters. As for the rest of the thread, well... you also need to appreciate the flow of creative conversations on forums. It may not provide you with what you're seeking, but the information, jokes, segue and banter can lead to other conversations or interesting reading...or not at all...that's the nature of forums. Irrespective of outcome, your insinuation (that we haven't provided you with what you were asking) implies arrogance amidst a display of bad manners.

If it were I looking for that information, apart from asking forum participants, I'd be hitting the museum too, universities or even hospitals (you'll be amazed at what specialist physicians know), park rangers, zoos, zoologists etc.....the list goes on.

Funnily, 'leeching' in social terms means to take from something or someone and not give anything back! So please, how about giving back some thanks to those who have contributed thus far. Manners go a long way.

Merry Christmas.

hhmmm wrote:Hi Bushwalk.com,
I am interested in finding out 'what preys on leeches or if they have any predators' and the only thing I have found out from your forum is the users who have responded have no idea. Great forum!! PS when I have come across a leech I have found no sign of any fish or ants!!!! which you imply are predators ... Do I need to carry my leech to the fish? I would appreciate a helpful answer from a forum which I hoped would be informative.

I can assure you that the ants eating the live leech at Pelion Gap were real you can also be assured that where the leeches are there will be ants and if you do any freshwater fishing you will find leeches , birds also eat them like liquorice all-sorts however you do need to be in the bush to observe this
corvus

Actually I've found they (leeches) often turn up in the most unexpected places and similarly places you would expect an onslaught of the slimy blighters are devoid of even a hint.
Strange too the places they attack on the body.
I once had one in an unmentionable place and was very tentative about its removal.

They must be one of the most detested and unpopular beings about.
Definitely poor company

God help us if the humourless ever take over in here.
But then again, after having been punted out of here on one occasion it wouldn't surprise.

taswegian wrote:Actually I've found they (leeches) often turn up in the most unexpected places and similarly places you would expect an onslaught of the slimy blighters are devoid of even a hint.
Strange too the places they attack on the body.
I once had one in an unmentionable place and was very tentative about its removal.

They must be one of the most detested and unpopular beings about.
Definitely poor company

Did you mean on the most unexpected places must admit I have never experienced any in my backyard which has an abundance of wild life and native flora perhaps they unlike others do not like bitumen as a highway or I have too many birds and ants
corvus

haha, who is hhmmm, hmmm ??? (ps, you met stibb roysta?)

jackhinde wrote:a leech for instance, cannot be a leech unless it has certain microorganisms living in inside.

So ... the answer to "what is a leech's natural predator" would include Cephalexin 250mg? How to administer it????

colinm you lost me on that one.

So ... the answer to "what is a leech's natural predator" would include Cephalexin 250mg

Cephalexin is used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including upper respiratory infections, ear infections, skin infections, and urinary tract infections. (from the web)

Or are you wanting to cure sick leeches so they can get back to doing what they know best?

hhmmm wrote:Hi Bushwalk.com,
PS when I have come across a leech I have found no sign of any fish or ants!!!! which you imply are predators ... Do I need to carry my leech to the fish? I would appreciate a helpful answer from a forum which I hoped would be informative.

Wallabies - uh huh, they use 'em as chewing gum.

PS - Unless you were swimming when you came across a leach, well, you would'nt expect to see any signs of a fish. How else might a fish and a leech come into contact? Hint - No, you don't carry the fish to your leech.

PPS - If the science becomes too hard or bothersome, make something up - works for theologians.

Hhmmm, welcome to the forum

taswegian wrote:colinm you lost me on that one.

So ... the answer to "what is a leech's natural predator" would include Cephalexin 250mg

Cephalexin is used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including upper respiratory infections, ear infections, skin infections, and urinary tract infections. (from the web)
Or are you wanting to cure sick leeches so they can get back to doing what they know best?

jackhinde pointed out that leeches need a culture of microorganisms in order to digest their blood meal, so I was making a geeky joke that antibiotics are their natural enemies. I guess penicillin mold would do as well.

Actually, being serious for a second ... I wonder if leeches which drank the blood of people who were taking antibiotics would suffer in consequence ... or people who had moldy boots.

No. You would get a resistance build up, like the fishlice they promoted in the Canadian salmon farms.
Then you would get a new breed of superleeches, as described in that journal.


Wot?

The only natural predator to Leeches I can think of is Dave Canterbury

http://youtu.be/EUNVdcg8zcY

I managed to kill a few on a recent walk... Most effective kill method was scrape them onto the Simmerlite. Very hard to kill, break them in half and the front half continues to limp away. Disturbingly fascinating, really.
They are incredibly rubbery, and crushing them proved difficult, it was necessary more to grind them into a paste than to crush them if you want to kill them.