Catostomus Macrocheilus Research Articles

Purse Seining for Juvenile Salmon and Trout in the Columbia River Estuary

Abstract A 28-foot gillnetter was modified to catch juvenile salmon and steelhead trout by purse seining in the estuary of the Columbia River. This vessel and equipment enabled effective sampling with relative economy, practicality, and safety. The main limitation was the lack of space for handling fish. Juvenile salmon and steelhead trout comprised the majority of the catch. Also taken in large numbers were surf smelt, American shad, northern anchovy, and longfin smelt in brackish water and peamouth in fresh water. The incidental catch included cutthroat trout, Pacific herring, eulachon, threespine stickleback, carp, shiner perch, starry flounder, and largescale sucker.

The Life Cycle of Neoechinorhynchus cristatus Lynch, 1936 (Acanthocephala) with Notes on the Hatching of Eggs

The life cycle of Neoechinorhynchus cristatus Lynch, 1936, a parasite of Catostomus macrocheilus and other catostomid fishes, is presented. Of five species of ostracods tested as intermediate hosts, development of hatched acanthors to juvenile worms occurred only in Cypridopsis helvetica. Feeding experiments indicated that after 20 days juveniles are infective to suckers. Attempts to infect any of the ostracods with N. crassus or N. venustus were unsuccessful. Based on observations of natural and artificial hatching of eggs, the composition and functional significance of the egg envelopes are discussed. The acanthocephalan Neoechinorhynchus cristatus Lynch, 1936, has been reported from the large-scale sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus, and other catostomid fishes. In northern Idaho, suckers infected with N. cristatus inhabit the same rivers as does the ostracod, Cypridopsis vidua. This widely distributed ostracod serves as intermediate host for N. saginatus from creek chubs, Semotilus atromaculatus, in North Dakota, Maine, and Wisconsin (Uglem and Larson, 1969). The purpose of this study was to examine the life cycle of N. cristatus using C. vidua, and other species of ostracods, as potential intermediae hosts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Large-scale suckers, C. macrocheilus, from the Palouse River east of Potlatch, Idaho, and from Hangman Creek near Tekoa, Washington, provided gravid females of N. cristatus. Bottom samples and submerged vegetation collected from the rivers yielded 5 species of ostracods: Cypridopsis vidua; C. vidua var. obesa; Cypridopsis helvetica; Cypria sp.; and Potamocypris sp. These were cultured in aquaria until sufficient numbers for feeding experiments could be obtained. Observations on the life cycle of N. saginatus and the methods of infecting ostracods and examining them for developing larvae are from Uglem and Larson (1969). Natural hatching of eggs of N. cristatus was observed and compared to artificial hatching induced by drying and wetting egg smears (Manter, 1927, 1928; Moore, 1942). To eliminate possible pressure on the eggs during examination, the cover slip was supported by small chips of glass. All measurements are expressed in microns, as an average of at least 10 observations Received for publication 5 May 1972. * Present address: Department of Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77001. unless indicated otherwise. Drawings were made freehand and from photomicrographs. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Of the five species of ostracods exposed to eggs of N. cristatus development of the larvae to infective juveniles (cystacanths) occurred only in C. helvetica (Table I). Although acanthors hatched in C. vidua and C. vidua var. obesa and penetrated the gut wall, growth in the hemocoel was incomplete. In the latter species oval-shaped acanthellae were recovered 4 to 7 days postfeeding, but no further development was observed. Apparently, these ostracods provided conditions that initiate hatching and metamorphosis, but lacked those needed for complete larval development. Eggs also hatched in Cypria and Potamocypris liberating active acanthors, but no evidence of penetration of the gut wall was found. No attempt was made to determine the incidence of naturally infected ostracods. Concurrent infections of N. cristatus and N. crassus adults in C. macrocheilus were common. Attempts to complete the larval development of N. venustus (obtained from the fine-scale sucker, C. columbianus) or N. crassus in any o the ostracods were unsuccessful. Development of these parasites was limited to hatching only (Table I). The life cycle of N. cristatus is basically similar to other neoechinorhynchids with only minor variations. Eggs measuring 56 by 27 are released by females and pass out of the intestine of the sucker with the feces. An infective egg consists of an unhatched or shelled acanthor, about 42 by 14, and four

Habitat Specificity and Correlated Aminopeptidase Activity in the Acanthocephalans Neoechinorhynchus cristatus and N. crassus

In natural concurrent infections of the large-scale sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus, the acanthocephalans Neoechinorhynchus cristatus and N. crassus occupied ecologically separate regions. N. crassus attached in the anterior intestine, while N. cristatus attached in the posterior intestine. Subadults of N. cristatus had a mean point of attachment 6 cm anterior to adults and occupied a longer section of intestine than did adults. There was no apparent intraspecies difference in distribution of N. crassus. Only subadults of N. cristatus were able to establish infections in abnormal host fishes. These data suggested that habitat specificity was well defined for both age groups of N. crassus and for adult N. cristatus, but was less so for subadult N. cristatus. Fluorometric aminopeptidase (APase) determinations showed the following: (1) extracts of each species possessed a characteristic and reproducible profile of APase activity; (2) posteriorly situated N. cristatus possessed greater and broader APase activity/mg worm protein than did anteriorly positioned N. crassus; (3) on the other hand, posterior host tissues in the environment of N. cristatus contained less activity than anterior host tissues where N. crassus attached; (4) during maturation of N. cristatus, APase levels decreased. Such a change in N. crassus was not observed. These findings suggest that high levels and a broad range of APase activity in subadult N. cristatus are correlated with its generalized habitat selection. The decrease in APase activity with age paralleled its increased habitat specificity. The demonstration of a biochemical basis for parasite-host specificity is difficult because several chemical as well as physical factors may be involved. Cohabiting parasites seldom have been subjects of such studies. Segregation of cohabitants in the environment may reflect the variation of a physiological adaptation in each species. If it is easily recognized, the adaptation and its relationship to habitat specificity may be studied in the laboratory. In preliminary examinations the acanthocephalan Neoechinorhynchus crassus Van Cleave, 1919, was found in large-scale suckers, Catostomus macrocheilus, of Hangman Creek near Tekoa, Washington, but not in those from the Palouse River east of Potlatch, Idaho. N. cristatus Lynch, 1936, was recovered from the same host from both areas. Concurrent infections by both parasites were common in Hangman Creek suckers, and each species tended to segregate in the intestine. As congeners, they Received for publication 6 January 1972. *From a dissertation submitted by the senior author to the graduate school as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. t Present address: Department of Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77001. t Present address: Department of Bacteriology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83843. represented an excellent model for study of the niche concept and physiological specificity of helminth parasites. Several studies have shown that helminths undergo a change in chemical composition during larval development (Goodchild and Wells, 1957; Archer and Hopkins, 1958; Hopkins and Hutchison, 1958; Mettrick and Cannon, 1970), suggesting that chemical changes are correlated with habitat specificity of developing worms. Using histochemical methods, Crompton (1963) demonstrated the presence of leucine aminopeptidase in the body wall of the acanthocephalan Polymorphus minutus. We have found that extracts of acanthocephalans and other helminths possess extensive and reproducible aminopeptidase (APase) activity on several a-amino acid-,-naphthylamide substrates. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in APase composition of N. cristatus and N. crassus during development from subadults to adults. A concurrent study of their interand intraspecies intestinal distributions gave insight into the dynamic relationship of ontogeny to habitat specificity. MATERIALS AND METHODS From September 1969 to June 1971, largescale suckers, Catostomus macrocheilus (Girard), were collected at monthly intervals by electric

Chondrococcus columnaris Disease of Fishes: Influence of Columbia River Fish Ladders

Columbia River fish ladders were surveyed as a possible ecological niche for Chondrococcus columnaris, the causative agent for columnaris disease of fishes. Water samples from Bonneville, McNary, Priest Rapids, and Rocky Reach fish ladders during periods of warm-water temperature and high population density of fishes showed C. columnaris levels of from 0.06 to 4.1 organisms/ml. Samples taken upstream or downstream from the ladders were consistently negative. Average agglutinating titers and incidence of C. columnaris infection in largescale suckers were higher at the Bonneville ladder than at a site several miles downstream Coho salmon from an upper-river fish ladder (Rocky Reach) showed a higher incidence of infection and greater antibody production than at the downriver Bonneville ladder. It is concluded that fish-ladder facilities on the Columbia River are important sites for repetitive exposure of anadromous salmonids to C. columnaris.

Spawning Habits of the Largescale Sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus, at Stave Lake, British Columbia

The spawning habits of the largescale sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus, were studied in the watershed of Stave Lake, British Columbia, during the spring of 1967. Spawning occurs in a variety of physical situations, in the inlet and outlet streams of lakes and on the gravelled lakeshores themselves. Spawning acts were observed during the day in some streams and at night in others. The largescale sucker is a mass spawner, with several males attending a single female. The eggs are deposited on, and beneath, the gravel surface. The spawning act is also described.

Distribution of Fishes in Tributaries of the Lower Columbia River

widespread species. Cottus rhotheus occurred at the most sampling sites, while C. beldingii showed the most restricted distribution. The distributions of C. perplexus and C. gulosus possessed interesting exclusions and overlaps suggesting keen competition. C. confusus was found only in streams with low summer temperatures. Of the seven primary species invading the lower Columbia River, five reach downstream to the influence of salt water. Only Mylocheilus caurinus and Catostomus macrocheilus are known to reside in brackish water. Richardsonius balteatus and Rhinich-

Myxidium macrocheili n. sp. (Cnidospora: Myxidiidae) from the Largescale Sucker Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, and a Synopsis of the Myxidium of North American Freshwater Vertebrates*

SYNOPSIS. Myxidium macrocheili n. sp. is described from the gall bladder, bile and pancreatic ducts of Catostomus macrocheilus Girard (largescale sucker) in western Montana. This parasite is markedly host specific; the trophozoite is nonmotile, polysporous, spheroidal, elongated or irregular, often arched and rolled at the edges, and up to 2.5 mm in greatest length; the ecto‐ and endoplasm are distinct; the sporonts are disporoblastic. The bipolar spore is longitudinally striated, usually ellipsoidal in front view, slightly S‐shaped in side view, and averages 11.7 × 6.6 × 6.3 μ; the suture line and ridge are distinct; the polar filaments are coiled 4–6 times.An illustrated synopsis and a key of the 19 species and 10 unnamed forms of Myxidium of North American freshwater vertebrates are presented. At present members of the genus are known to infect fishes, amphibians and a single species of reptile on this continent.

"Salmon Poisoning" Disease. II. Second Intermediate Host Susceptibility Studies

The fishes Cottus perplexus, Lampetra richardsoni, L. tridentata, and Richardsonius balteatus and the Pacific giant salmander, Dicamptodon ensatus, all from western Oregon streams, were found naturally infected with metacercariae of Nanophyetus salmincola, the salmon poisoning fluke. This is the first report of natural infections in an animal other than a fish and in nonsalmonid fishes. Fourteen species of fishes were experimentally infected: Salmo gairdneri, S. salar, S. trutta, Salvelinus fontinalis, S. namaycush, Lampetra richardsoni, Cottus perplexus, Carassius auratus, Richardsonius balteatus, Catostomus macrocheilus, Lepomis macrochirus, Gasterosteus a. aculeatus, G. a. microcephalus, and Gambusia affinis. This extends the number of salmonid and nonsalmonid fishes susceptible to experimental infection. Cysts from all five of the naturally infected animals and from 12 of the 14 experimentally infected fishes were given to hamsters by stomach tube. In all instances except one (probably because of low dosage), the identification of the parasites as N. salmincola was confirmed by recovery of adult flukes from the hamsters. The possibility that N. schikhobalowi from Far Eastern Siberian humans, dogs, cats, and foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and N. salmincola are synonymous is discussed. Nanophyetus salmincola, the salmon poisoning fluke, requires three hosts for the completion of its life cycle. The first intermediate host is Oxytrema silicula, a stream snail found only in Oregon west of the Cascade Mountains, north to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and in northern California. The second intermediate hosts are fishes in which the cercariae encyst. The definitive hosts are fish-eating mammals such as canids, raccoons, mink, lynx, and the skunk. The fluke is a vector for Neorickettsia helminthoeca, the etiologic agent of salmon poisoning disease, a usually fatal illness of canids. Salmon poisoning disease was reviewed by Philip (1955), and the life cycle of the parasite was studied by Bennington and Pratt (1960). On the basis of the initial work of Donham et al. (1926) and Simms et al. (1931a, b), and in the absence of reports to the contrary, it has long been believed that salmonids were the only species of fish capable of serving as Received for publication 19 August 1965. *This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant 1-ROI-AI0659901, from the NIAID. Technical Paper No. 2030, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. A contribution from the Pacific Cooperative Water Pollution and Fisheries Research Laboratories. This study is a part of a thesis submitted by the senior author to the Graduate School of Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. second intermediate hosts for N. salmincola. Donham et al. (1926) did not find this parasite in the following nonsalmonid fishes (scientific names were not given) taken in western Oregon: two whitefish, two smelt, one chub, one sea bass, one silver perch, and five suckers. Simms et al. (1931b) were unable to find the parasite in the following nonsalmonid fishes (numbers examined not given) from western Oregon streams: Micropterus dolomieui, smallmouth bass; Thaleichthys pacificus, eulachon or Columbia River smelt; Catostomus macrocheilus, large-scale sucker; Mylocheilus caurinu , peamouth; and Acipenser transmontanus, white sturgeon. Pernot (1911) examined one mudcat (scientific name not given) and found it uninfected. The only attempts to experimentally infect nonsalmonid fishes with N. salmincola were those of Bennington and Pratt (1960). By placing fish and infected snails together in aquaria, they infected two speckled dace, Rhinichthys osculus, one riffle sculpin, Cottus gulosus (probably perplexus in view of present knowledge of the distribution of these fishes in Oregon), and two goldfish, Carassius

A New Haemogregarine from the Blood of a Fresh-Water Fish, Catostomus macrocheilus Girard

A new species of haemogregarine, Haemogregarina catostomi, is described from the mature erythrocytes of a fresh-water teleost, Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, at Soos Creek, Washington State. The parasite characteristically takes the form of a deep crescent or U, curving around one end of the infected host cell. Only gametocyte stages are present and only one parasite is found per erythrocyte. The intermediate host and means of transmission are unknown. An undescribed haemogregarine, considered to be the first recorded from a teleost restricted to fresh water in the United States, was found within the mature erythrocytes of the largescale sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus Girard. This parasite (Protozoa: Sporozoa: Coccidia: Adeleidae) is a new species which is named after its host as Haemogregarina catostomi. The fish were collected during their spawning migration at Soos Creek, a tributary of the Green River near Auburn, Washington, in March and April 1961. Of 17 suckers examined, 7 (41.2%) were infected; all were sexually mature fish with fork lengths varying between 30 and 45 cm. The examination of young fish (about 6.5 cm), collected later in the spring and summer of 1961, failed to disclose the presence of the parasite. Fantham, Porter, and Richardson (1942), in reporting different haemogregarines from marine fishes of eastern Canada, also described a coccidian from the leucocytes of Quebec brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, which they named Leucocytozoon salvelini. This parasite obviously belongs to the genus Haemogregarina (Laird, 1961) and is the first haemogregarine recorded from a fresh-water fish of North America. Other records of haemogregarines relative to this continent were made by Saunders (1954, 1955, and 1958) from marine fishes of Florida and by Laird (1961), who recently described a new species, H. irkalukpiki, from the sea-run arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, taken from two streams of northern Canada. Received for publication 29 January 1961. *This study was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Grant E-3664. Contribution No. 140, College of Fisheries, University of Washington. TECHNIQUE Blood smears were obtained from the caudal artery of fishes by severing the caudal peduncle, after first wiping the area behind the adipose fin free of water and mucus. The films were airdried, fixed in absolute methyl alcohol, and stained with Giemsa. With this stain the cytoplasm of the erythrocytes is a pale orange-red and the nucleus a dark purple. The haemogregarines within the erythrocytes are sharply differentiated by the light blue color of their cytoplasm and the intense crimson of their chromatin granules. Genus Haemogregarina Danilewsky Haemogregarina catostomi sp. n. Host: Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, the large-scale sucker of the Pacific Northwest. Locality: Soos Creek, tributary of the Green River near Auburn, King County, State of Washington. Specific diagnosis: H. catostomi occurs in the cytoplasm of mature erythrocytes. Only gametocyte stages in the blood cell; no intraerythrocytic schizogony. Typical body shape a U or deep crescent, curving inside one end of the host cell without contacting either the nucleus or the boundary of the cell. Mature forms cupped on the inner side of the crescent. Lacking refractive granules, vacuoles and chromatin particles in the cytoplasm, and without polar caps. Average body dimensions (in microns) (20 specimens): Total body length, 14.50 (range 12.08 to 16.48); length of left extremity from the nucleus, 5.21 (3.28 to 7.20); length of right extremity from the nucleus, 5.20 (2.80 to 7.36); length of nucleus, 4.10 (2.32 to 6.24); width of nucleus, 3.37 (1.84 to 4.48); maximum body width, 4.57 (3.52 to 6.32); depth of curve, 8.18 (5.76 to 9.12). Size of normal erythrocyte (in microns) (20 specimens): Length, 15.38 (range 13.44 to 17.28); width, 10.41 (8.96 to 13.60); length of nucleus, 7.52 (6.08 to 8.88); width of nucleus, 4.53 (3.36 to 5.28). Type specimens: Holotypes and paratypes deposited in the United States National Museum No. 59803; other paratypes retained in the author's collection.

The osteocranium of the catostomid fish, Catostomus macrocheilus: a study in adaptation and natural relationship.

The osteocranium of the catostomid fish, Catostomus macrocheilus: a study in adaptation and natural relationship.

Distribution and Taxonomy of Fishes in the Mackenzie Drainage of British Columbia

New and previously published records are listed for 28 species of freshwater fishes in tributaries of the Mackenzie River in northern British Columbia. Distribution patterns are discussed for all species reaching the continental divide at the Peace River headwaters; some are restricted to one or other side, but 17 species are common to the Peace and Fraser Rivers, suggesting that mountain ranges have served as a check but not an insurmountable obstacle to postglacial expansion. Five species indigenous to the Pacific slope—Catostomus macrocheilus, Richardsonius balteatus, Ptychocheilus oregonense, Mylocheilus caurinum, and Cottus asper—have evidently penetrated to the Peace River in comparatively recent times. Three species—the flathead chub Platygobio gracilis, the trout-perch Percopsis omiscomaycus, and the spoon-head sculpin Cottus ricei—have not previously been recorded from the province. Evidence is presented that subspecific distinctions are invalid in Couesius plumbeus (Agassiz) and Lota lota (Linnaeus). Coregonus coulieri and Hybognathus hankinsoni are reported for the first time from the Mackenzie drainage.