Helminth and Myxozoan Parasites of Fishes of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Helminth and Myxozoan Parasites of Fishes of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Parasites are important because of the role they play on biodiversity from the local ecosystem to the global level. There is little information concerning helminths (worms) and none on myxozoan parasites of fishes in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Dr. Joseph Camp examined few specimens of about 15 fish species obtained from the park at selected localities in the early 2000’s. This is a fraction of the approximately 88 known fish species within park watersheds.Fishes collected by electrofishing by park personnel and volunteers will be identified, measured and examined using standard parasitological techniques. Parasites will be mounted on microscope slides for identification. Parasite data will be entered in the ATBI database, and the required report of activities and a checklist of parasite and host species produced. A photographic record of each species can be made and included in the ATBI database.
Helminth (worm) parasites of fishes in the GSMNP are poorly known with only a few fish hosts examined heretofore. Fishes were collected from several watersheds in the eastern half of the park in July and September 2010 with the aid of park fisheries personnel and Paul Super. Fifty-one of 81 preserved fishes, or 63 %, of the 15 fish species I examined to date, were found to have at least one parasite species present. I found representatives of four phyla present in park fishes. Two of the three parasitic Platyhelminthes classes (Trematoda and Monogenoidea) were the most common parasites encountered either as adult, immature adults or larval stages (e.g. blackspot metacercariae on body surfaces). Several fishes were infected with adult intestinal nematodes (Phylum Nematoda), immature tapeworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes), or more rarely encysted juvenile nematodes. Leeches (Phylum Annelida) appear to be rare on fishes collected for this study. Myxospores of myxozoans (Phylum Cnidaria) were found to date only in a warpaint shiner and longnose dace. One northern hogsucker was found to have unionid mussel glochidia (Phylum Mollusca) on its fins. Most of these parasites will constitute new records for the park and potentially new to science.
