Past vs. present: A survey of the fish parasites of the tributaries of Oneida Lake, NY

Abstract

In 1934, Van Cleave and Mueller completed a study of the parasite fauna of the fish in Oneida Lake and its tributaries, where they documented over eighty species of parasites, thirty-three of which were new descriptions. Since 1934, the lake has undergone many environmental changes which have impacted the invertebrate fauna, mollusks in particular. The present study is a fish parasite survey of twelve tributaries of Oneida Lake undertaken to compare our results to Van Cleave and Mueller’s survey. The methods of this study included the collection of thirty-three fish species via backpack shocking, e-boat and hook and line fishing, partial necropsy of fish to collect parasites and the mounting of parasites for identification using light and scanning microscopes. During the recent survey of the lake, certain species of trematodes that had been reported by Van Cleave and Mueller were considered ‘missing’. Some of the missing species of parasites were found in the survey of the tributaries. For example, we encountered the trematode Bunodera sacculata in seven of twenty-six Perca flavescens. Bunodera sacculata uses a native clam as its first intermediate host, which is thought to have been extirpated from the lake due to invasive species. Additionally, thirty-two species were documented from three other major groups. This survey fills a knowledge gap on the fish parasite data in the tributaries and will add to the current survey knowledge of the lake system. Through an extensive survey of the fish parasites in Oneida Lake’s tributaries, the comparison of my results to Van Cleave and Mueller’s study demonstrates the parasite community in the tributaries are differs from those found in the lake because of several years of change to the watershed.