Parasites of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the St. Lawrence estuary and gulf

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (S1) ◽  
pp. 246-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Arthur ◽  
E. Albert ◽  
F. Boily

A survey of the parasites of capelin (Mallotus villosus) caught on the spawning grounds at five localities in the estuary of the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, was conducted in 1994. From examination of 125 fish, a total of 21 parasite taxa was identified (2 Protista, 3 Monogenea, 4 Digenea, 4 Cestoda, 7 Nematoda, and 1 Acanthocephala). Seven new host records are reported for this fish (Trichodina sp., Brachyphallus crenatus, Bothrimonus sturionis, Ascarophis sp., Pseudoterranova decipiens larva, Spirurida gen.sp. larva, and Echinorhynchus laurentianus). The parasite fauna of capelin is comparatively depauperate. It is characterized by the relative abundance of a few species showing a high level of host specificity (Microsporidium sp., Trichodina sp., Gyrodactyloides andriaschewi, G. petruschewskii, Laminiscus gussevi, and Eubothrium parvum) that mature on or in capelin, several ubiquitous adult digeneans (e.g., B. crenatus, Derogenes various, Hemiurus levinseni, and Lecithaster gibbosus), and a number of species that use capelin as intermediate or transport hosts (e.g., Scolex pleuronectis plerocercoid, Anisakis simplex larva, Contracaecinea gen.sp. larva, and Hysterothylacium aduncum larva).

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan C. Sharp ◽  
Kenneth W. Able ◽  
William C. Leggett ◽  
James E. Carscadden

Multivariate discriminant function analyses were performed on 9 morphometric and 11 meristic characters of capelin (Mallotus villosus) samples at Île aux Coudres in the St. Lawrence estuary; Sept Îles, Natashquan, and Grande Rivière in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Southeast Shoal on the Grand Banks; and Herring Neck, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. Analyses of meristic characters provided no evidence of discrete stocks. Analyses of morphometric characters provided strong statistical separation between areas. A posteriori classification of groups yielded 93.1% correct classification for males and 73.3% for females. Only snout length, eye diameter, head length, and body depth contributed significantly to the separation obtained. These findings suggest that meristic characters offer little potential for stock identification in Canadian Atlantic waters. Morphometric characters may prove useful, but further study, corroborated with life history and migration data, is required to confirm this. Key words: capelin, Mallotus villosus, meristics, morphometrics, stock separation, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Canadian Atlantic, multivariate analysis


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 2008-2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Jacquaz ◽  
Kenneth W. Able ◽  
William C. Leggett

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) larvae in the St. Lawrence estuary and northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence were most abundant in 1974 and 1975 in the upper estuary in early June; this coincided with the spring peak in primary production. A spectacular decline (>99%) in larval abundance between June and September resulted principally from their downstream transport by currents. In October and November larval capelin were concentrated in a large counterclockwise gyre located in the northwestern Gulf between Anticosti Island and Pointe des Monts. This region is within the area of maximum primary production in the estuary and Gulf and may serve as an important feeding area for larval capelin. Length of capelin larvae at the end of the first growing season in the estuary and northwestern Gulf was greater than that of capelin from Newfoundland, Labrador, and Greenland. However, this difference may have resulted from sampling biases. Daily growth rates of capelin larvae from these areas were similar. Key words: capelin, Mallotus villosus, St. Lawrence, seasonal distributions, larval transport, growth, vertical distribution


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 1326-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Fortier ◽  
William C. Leggett ◽  
Serge Gosselin

The environmental cues triggering larval capelin (Mallotus villosus) emergence in the St. Lawrence estuary and in coastal Newfoundland are different. In the estuary, emergence from the intertidal and subtidal spawning grounds starts with dusk and ends with dawn, indicating an active response to low light intensity. In the laboratory, emergence from undisturbed sediments collected in the field is perfectly synchronized with the dark phase of the illumination cycle. Nocturnal emergence would represent an adaptation reducing vulnerability to visual predators. Previous work has shown that in Newfoundland, capelin emergence from intertidal beaches is triggered by abrupt changes in water temperature following the sporadic advection to the coast of surface water masses characterized by low predator and high prey abundances. We argue that regional differences in the emergence pattern of the species represent different strategies to avoid predation at the onset of the planktonic drift when the vulnerable yolk sac larvae are densely aggregated. Selection acting on the behaviour of the early larval stages could contribute to stock differentiation in capelin.


2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1508-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ouellet ◽  
Alice Olga Victoria Bui ◽  
Diane Lavoie ◽  
Joël Chassé ◽  
Nicolas Lambert ◽  
...  

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) spawning in the St. Lawrence Estuary is concentrated in the Upper Estuary (UE). The northwest Gulf of St. Lawrence (NW GSL) was presented as the principal nursery for capelin originating from the estuary. In 2009 and 2010, we investigated the abundance, distribution, and size structure of capelin larvae in this system, and a particle tracking model was used to simulate larval dispersion. There was evidence of retention and larval growth in the Lower Estuary (LE), and older larvae were found in the LE by the end of summer. In October 2009, it was possible to link the cohorts of large larvae to emergence events in the UE in spring. Capelin larvae were more abundant or bigger (mean length) in the LE relative to the NW GSL in fall 2006, 2008, and 2009. We conclude that the LE is the habitat of a unit of the GSL capelin population composed of individuals that are retained in this region following hatching in the UE and that there is limited mixing with larvae originating in the NW GSL.


1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 1411-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Réjean Hays ◽  
Lena N Measures ◽  
Jean Huot

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) (N = 760) and herring (Clupea harengus) (N = 165) were collected in the St. Lawrence estuary during the summer of 1994 and 1995 to examine the importance of pelagic fish in transmission of Anisakis simplex to cetaceans. Larval A. simplex were removed from fish by means of a pepsin-digest solution or by dissection. Prevalence of A. simplex in dissected capelin was 5%, with a mean intensity of 1.2. Prevalences of A. simplex in herring were 95 and 99%, with mean intensities of 6.2 and 6.8 for pepsin digestion and dissection, respectively. Third-stage larval A. simplex found in capelin and herring were compared with third-stage larvae found in euphausiids and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence estuary and no differences in size or morphology of larvae from these four hosts were observed. Euphausiids, which harboured moulting second-stage and third-stage larvae, are intermediate hosts of A. simplex. As there was no apparent development of larvae in herring or capelin, these fish are considered to be paratenic hosts of A. simplex in the St. Lawrence estuary.


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 1832-1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Marchand ◽  
Yvan Simard ◽  
Yves Gratton

In 1994 and 1995, continuous monitoring of physical characteristics and echo integration were used to detect aggregations of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the upper water column in relation to thermal fronts and to examine the tidal dynamics in an intense upwelling area at the head of the Laurentian Channel. During the four cruises, fish aggregations were recorded for 72% of the fronts (n = 61) resulting from the periodic upwelling of cold waters. Over the tidal cycle, only a low fish biomass was detected when the cold intermediate waters (<2°C) upwelled during high tide; 90% of the 2-year-old capelin biomass was detected in water temperatures >2°C. Capelin zooplankton prey were concentrated primarily over the deep Laurentian Channel, with very small numbers being found in the shallower areas nearby, where the fronts occurred. The prey concentrations did not increase at the fronts at any phase of the tidal cycle. The few zooplankton patches detected by the optical plankton counter did not correspond to either physical structures or fish concentrations. The gut fullness index and the stomach contents of the capelin caught in fronts did not differ from those of capelin caught elsewhere. These frontal aggregations of capelin seem therefore to be driven more by a threshold response to low temperatures than by trophic interactions based on a higher prey density.


2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan Simard ◽  
Diane Lavoie ◽  
François J Saucier

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) tridimensional distribution at the head of the Laurentian Channel in the St. Lawrence estuary was investigated using 38- and 120-kHz acoustic surveys in the summers of 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998. The results are interpreted with the help of a high-resolution tridimensional tidal circulation model. Total biomasses were small (93–4583 t) and showed rapid fluctuations, whereas mesoscale distribution was more constant. Capelin tended to occupy the very end of the channel head, especially the slopes and shallows surrounding the basins. This pattern did not coincide with the krill distribution, but the two total biomass series were significantly correlated. Capelin tidal dynamics is characterized by herding of capelin against the channel head slopes by the starting flooding currents, followed by an upwelling over the sills and shallows during maximum flood currents, and a return to the channel by the surface outflow during ebb. Each side of the channel head has a distinct capelin retention tidal cycle involving passive advection, swimming, and the two-layer estuarine circulation. This capelin distribution and tidal dynamics closely match the local fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) distributions observed from the whale-watching fleet and typical tidal feeding strategies at the channel head.


2001 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
G McClelland ◽  
DJ Martell

Between November 1988 and October 1996, >10,000 fish from the Breton Shelf, Sable Island Bank and the northeastern Gulf of Maine were examined for larval anisakines. Larval sealworm, Pseudoterranova decipiens, occurred in 30 of 39 species surveyed, including 8 new host records, Enchelyopus cimbrius, Lycodes reticulatus, Eumesogrammus praecisus, Lumpenus lumpretaeformis, Lumpenus maculatus, Cryptacanthodes maculatus, Artediellus atlanticus and Triglops murrayi. The parasite was most prevalent and abundant in mature demersal piscivores and benthic consumers. Sealworm densities (nr kg-1 host wt.), however, were greatest in small benthophagous fish including mature E. cimbrius, A. atlanticus, T. murrayi and Aspidophoroides monopterygius, and juvenile Hippoglossoides platessoides. ANOVA revealed that geographical disparities in sealworm prevalence and abundance were highly significant in 14 of 20 species tested, although significant disparities between samples from each of the three areas were evident only in H. platessoides. Almost invariably, infection parameters were greatest in fish from Sable Island Bank. ANOVA also indicated that sealworm prevalence and/or abundance increased significantly in Sable Island Bank populations of Gadus morhua, H. platessoides, and seven other species between 1985-1986 and 1989-1990. Routine examinations, in which host flesh was sliced and candled, proved as efficacious as digestion in warm (35° C) pepsin-HCl for detection of larval sealworm in the flesh of large frozen fish. Procedures employing fresh (iced) samples, digestion at ambient temperature and microscopy are recommended, however, for surveys of small benthic consumers. Many of the sealworm infecting the latter hosts are tiny (2 to 10 mm in length) nematodes, which escape detection by routine inspection, and may not survive in warm pepsin-HCl solution.


2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haylee J. Weaver

Ticks (Ixodidae) were collected from northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) from three sites on the Atherton Tableland, north Queensland. Four species of ticks (Haemaphysalis humerosa, Ixodes fecialis, I. holocyclus and I. tasmani) were collected from quolls. Prevalence of infestation of ticks varied from 44 to 92% across the three sites. The collection of the three species of Ixodes represents new host records for D. hallucatus, thus adding valuable new details to the ecology of the parasite fauna of an endangered marsupial.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.D.M. Dove ◽  
A.S. Fletcher

AbstractNative and exotic fishes were collected from 29 sites across coastal and inland New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, using a range of techniques, to infer the distribution of Bothriocephalus acheilognathi (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) and the host species in which it occurs. The distribution of B. acheilognathi was determined by that of its principal host, carp, Cyprinuscarpio; it did not occur at sites where carp were not present. The parasite was recorded from all native fish species where the sample size exceeded 30 and which were collected sympatrically with carp: Hypseleotris klunzingeri, Hypseleotris sp. 4, Hypseleotris sp. 5, Phylipnodon grandiceps and Retropinna semoni. Bothriocephalus acheilognathi was also recorded from the exotic fishes Gambusia holbrooki and Carassiusauratus. Hypseleotris sp. 4, Hypseleotris sp. 5, P. grandiceps, R. semoni and C. auratus are new host records. The parasite was not recorded from any sites in coastal drainages. The only carp population examined from a coastal drainage (Albert River, south-east Queensland) was also free of infection; those fish had a parasite fauna distinct from that of carp in inland drainages and may represent a separate introduction event. Bothriocephalus acheilognathi has apparently spread along with its carp hosts and is so far restricted to the Murray-Darling Basin. The low host specificity of this parasite is cause for concern given the threatened or endangered nature of some Australian native freshwater fish species. A revised list of definitive hosts of B. acheilognathiis presented.


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