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Parasites, Morphology, and Habitat Use in a Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) Population

1996; American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists; Volume: 1996; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1446850

1938-5110

David Sloan Wilson, Patrick M. Muzzall, Timothy J. Ehlinger,

Fish Ecology and Management Studies

In some lakes, bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus, family Centrarchidae) captured from the open water and littoral zone are morphologically and behaviorally specialized for foraging in their respective habitats. Here, we examine the degree to which individuals move between habitats of a single lake by using parasites as an indicator of long-term habitat use. Fish captured from the open water and littoral zone of Holcomb Lake, Michigan, were morphologically different, confirming the results of an earlier study. Twelve parasite species infected bluegill from the littoral zone whereas seven species infected fish from the open water. Two digenetic trematode species (Neascus sp. and Posthodiplostomum minimum) that utilize snails as intermediate hosts were over five times more abundant in littoral-zone fish than in open-water fish, whereas one cestode species (Proteocephalus ambloplitis) that utilizes copepods as intermediate hosts was almost twice as abundant in open-water fish than in littoral-zone fish. Within habitats, there was no relationship between morphology and parasite abundance. Our results suggest that most fish (including those with intermediate morphology) commit themselves to one habitat or the other and that open-water specialists seldom visit the littoral zone.