A. Choudhury et al., HELMINTHS AND FOOD-HABITS OF LAKE STURGEON ACIPENSER-FULVESCENS FROM THE LAKE WINNEBAGO SYSTEM, WISCONSIN, The American midland naturalist, 135(2), 1996, pp. 274-282
Eight species of helminths were recovered from 45 summer (June-August)
and 29 winter (February) lake sturgeon adults and juveniles, from Lak
e Winnebago, Wisconsin. Eighteen young-of-the-year (YOY) sturgeon coll
ected from the wolf River were uninfected. Both summer and winter helm
inth communities were dominated by host specific parasites such as Cre
idostomum auriculatum, Skrjabinopsolus manteri, Capillospirura pseudoa
rgumentosa and Truttaedacnitis clitellarius. Examination of stomach co
ntents indicated the chironomids were the most important food items an
d comparison with past records on lake sturgeon diet suggests and unch
anged use of the benthos of Lake Winnebago. The eutrophic nature of La
ke Winnebago is probably responsible for the absence of Hexagenia spp,
an important component of the diet of lake sturgeon from other system
s, which would explain the absence of a host specific nematode, Spinit
ectus acipenseri. Although the trophic status of the lake may modify t
he helminth community, some host specific endo-helminths (C-ariculatum
, C-pseudoargumentosa) appear to be transmitted in riverine environmen
ts (deeper downstream channels) used as feeding areas by older (2 yr+)
sturgeon. Differences in habitat and diet of YOY sturgeon in the Wolf
River and the absence of any host specific helminths in these juvenil
es also indicate that the community of host specific helminths is not
recruited until YOY juveniles enter deeper downstream channels to feed
.