Parasites of fish from the Salton Sea, California, U.S.A.

Abstract

Parasitological monitoring was carried out from 1997 to 1999 in a highly saline (41–45 g/l) lake in southeastern California, Salton Sea. A total of 1473 fishes were examined. Young tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, croaker, Bairdiella icistia, and mudsucker, Gillichthys mirabilis, were found infected by ectoparasites. Some persistent foci of fish infestations were found around the perimeter of the lake. The diversity of parasites was limited to three protozoan species, Amyloodinium ocellatum (Dinoflagellida), Ambiphrya ameiuri (Peritricha), Cryptobia branchialis (Bodonida: Kinetoplastida), and two metazoans, the monogeneans Gyrodactylus olsoni and G. imperialis. Both A. ocellatum and A. ameiuri infested fish from spring through fall. The greatest infestations occurred in summer (29–40°C) in the case of A. ocellatum and in spring and autumn (22–27°C) in the case of A. ameiuri. High parasite loads caused severe damage to such respiratory organs as gills and skin. They may depress respiration and osmoregulation and, in combination with other environmental factors, cause fish suffocation and death. These parasites may play a major role in juvenile fish mortality.