Leeches (Hirudinea) in the Upper Stones River Drainage of Middle Tennessee

Abstract

Leeches were collected from September 1972 through November 1973 from 68 sites, and measurements were made of water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. Eight species were collected representing four families: Erpobdellidae, Glossiphoniidae, Hirudinidae and Piscicolidae. Placobdella ornata was the most widely distributed and eurytopic species, and contrary to previous reports of its principal occurrence on turtles, 98% of the specimens were free-living. Placobdella parasitica was the most abundant species, and 89% were attached tol the turtles Chelydra serpentina and Pseudemys scripta. Haemopis marmorata exhibited stenotopic characteristics and was the only species not associated with any other species. Illinobdella moorei occurred mainly on the bass species, Micropterus dolomieui and M. salmoides, but it was also found on Etheostoma squamiceps and Notropis cornutus, which are new host records. Erpobdella punctata, Haemopis marmorata, Helobdella elongata and Placobdella ornata are new records for Tennessee. Helobdella lineata occurred at four sites, and Illinobdella alba at only one site. INTRODUCTION The Hirudinea constitute a significant part of the North American fresh-water fauna, but apart from the study of Louisiana leeches by Sawyer (1967), they have received only scant attention in the southeastern U.S.A. No study has been published previously which dealt exclusively with leeches of Tennessee, but the literature does record six species from the state: Haemopis terrestris (Moore, 1898), Helobdella lineata (Sawyer, 1972), Illinobdella alba, I. moorei, I. richardsoni (Bangham and Venard, 1942; Meyer, 1946) and Placobdella parasitica (Moore, 1898; Sawyer, 1972). A preliminary search for leeches in the Stones River drainage of Middle Tennessee yielded two previously unreported species from the state. The objectives of the present study were to identify the leech species and their distribution in the upper drainage of Stones River, to make some ecological observations, and to establish a base for future studies on Tennessee leeches. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA The Stones River basin ig located in the N-central portion of the Nashville or Central Basin, a physiographic province of Middle Tennessee that presents a gently undulating plain ranging in altitude from 152 to 213 m and that is developed on soluble Ordovician limestone (Bassler, 1932). Stones River and its tributaries receive drainage from five counties: Cannon, Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson.