Structure of the Helminth Assemblage of an Endemic Madtom Catfish (Noturus lachneri)

Abstract

The Ouachita madtom, Noturus lachneri, is a small, uniformly-colored catfish endemic to the upper Saline and Ouachita river drainages in central Arkansas (Robison and Buchanan, 1988), where it is often found in shallow pools associated with clear, high gradient, rock-bottomed streams (Robison and Harp, 1985). Distribution, habitat, diet, and conservation status of N. lachneri were examined by Robison and Harp (1985). However, information on parasites of this endemic species has not been reported. Herein, we report .crn. species richness and mean abundance of hehninth parasites of N. kuhna'. Compared to free-living organisms, parasite assemblages are spatially well-defined and show distinct levels of hierarchical organization (Poulin, 1997). All parasites within a single host constitute an infracommunity, whereas all helminths in a host population define the component community (Holmes and Price, 1986). At the infracommunity scale many replicates are possible because each individual host within a population of hosts constitutes a fully censused assemblage. Therefore, parasite assemblages provide an excellent system for hypothesis testing in community ecology (Poulin, 1997). Parasites often influence critical aspects of the lie-history and ecology of their host species. For example, parasites can affect repro

Metacercaria of Alloglossidium corti (Digenea: Macroderoididae) from 3 Species of Crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in Arkansas and Oklahoma, U.S.A

“…(Hoffman, 1999); freshwater eel, Angulla rostrata (Hoffman, 1999); white catfish, Ameiurus catus (Hoffman, 1999); black bullhead, Ameiurus melas (Hoffman, 1999); yellow bullhead, Ameiurus natalis (Becker and Houghton, 1969;Williams and Dyer, 1992); brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus (Williams and Dyer, 1992); flat bullhead, Ameiurus platycephalus (Hoffman, 1999); warmouth, Chaenobryttus (5Lepomis) gulosus (Williams and Dyer, 1992); channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Allison, 1957;Becker and Houghton, 1969;Spall, 1969;Meade and Bedinger, 1972 [as A. kenti]); largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Hoffman, 1999); stonecat, Noturus flavus (Hoffman, 1999); Noturus gyrinus (Muzzall and Prachell, 2007); margined madtom, Noturus insignis (Hoffman, 1999); Ouachita madtom, Noturus lachneri (Fiorillo et al, 1999); brindled madtom, Noturus miurus (Hoffman, 1999); and flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris (Pérez-Ponce de León and Choudhury, 2002).…”

“…Geographic range: U.S.A.: Alabama (Williams and Dyer, 1992); Arkansas (Becker and Houghton, 1969;Fiorillo et al, 1999; this report); California (Hoffman, 1999); Colorado (Hoffman, 1999); Florida (Bangham, 1939(Bangham, , 1969; Georgia (Booth and Aliff, 1978); Idaho (Hoffman, 1999); Illinois (Hoffman, 1999); Indiana (Hoffman, 1999); Iowa (Barnhart et al, 1976); Kansas (Harms, 1960); Kentucky (Hoffman, 1999); Louisiana (Font and Corkum, 1977); Michigan (Muzzall and Prachell, 2007); Minnesota (Crawford, 1937 [experimental infection];Larson, 1966); Mississippi (Hoffman, 1999); Missouri (Hoffman, 1999); Nebraska (Hoffman, 1999); New York (Van Cleave and Mueller, 1934); North Dakota (Forstie and Holloway, 1984); Ohio (Bangham and Hunter, 1939;Bangham, 1941Bangham, , 1972; Oklahoma (Spall, 1969); Texas (Meade and Bedinger, 1972); Virginia (Hoffman, 1999); and Wisconsin (Pearce, 1924;Bangham, 1944;Fischthal, 1947;Anthony, 1963). Canada: British Columbia (Bangham, 1941;Bangham and Adams, 1954); Ontario (Dechtiar, 1972 (1934, pg 213) stated that ''the species which Simer (1929...…”