Metazoan parasites of fishes from central Labrador

• Main Author: Chinniah, Vimala Chandra
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1977
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Catostomus catostomus; Salmo salar; Smallwood Reservoir
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7431/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7431/1/Chinniah_VimalaChandra.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7431/3/Chinniah_VimalaChandra.pdf

A total of 332 fish of eight species from fourteen locations in the Smallwood Reservoir complex of central Labrador were examined for metazoan parasites using conventional parasitological techniques. Fish autopsied include 107 pike (Esox lucius, Linnaeus), 102 lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis (Mitchill)), 68 brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill)), 32 lake trout (S. namaycush (Walbaum)), 14 longnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus (Forster)), 5 Atlantic salmon (landlocked) (Salmo salar Linnaeus), 3 lake chub (Couesius plumbeus (Agassiz)), and 1 round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum (Pallas)). -- Fifteen genera of parasites were recovered (two of Monogenea, two of Digenea, four of Cestoda, Three of Nematoda, two of Acanthocephals and two of Copepoda). Seven new host records were noted. -- There were significant differences in the prevalence of the parasites which were common to the different species of fish examined. Generally, each parasite equally infected both the male and the female host species. There was no correlation between the number of parasite species per infected fish and host age in the case of Salvelinus fontinalis and S. namaycush. However in the case of Coregonus clupeaformis, Esox lucius and Catostomus catastomus there was an increase in the number of parasite species per infected host with age, up to a certain age, after which it began to decline. -- Food items of fish examined were also noted.