UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE Graduate Studies INFECTIOUS DISEASES, PARASITES, AND DIET OF GAME FISH FROM LAKES, RIVERS, AND STREAMS ON FORT MCCOY MILITARY INSTALLATION A Manuscript Style Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology Sarah E. Bauer College of Science and Health Aquatic Science Concentration December, 2010 ABSTRACT Bauer, S. E. Infectious diseases, parasites, and diet of game fish from lakes, rivers, and streams on Fort McCoy Military Installation. MS in Biology, December 2010, 86 pp. (B. Lasee and R. Haro) Fort McCoy biologists are concerned with emerging and invasive pathogens that could colonize fish within the waters of the military installation. An infectious disease, parasite and diet survey was conducted to document the presence of any invasive species and to establish a baseline of fish parasite communities of brook trout, brown trout, bluegill, largemouth bass, and white suckers. Fish (n = 497) were collected from 10 study sites at Fort McCoy and screened for target pathogens according to the procedures outlined in the AFS Blue Book Fish Health Section Inspection Manual. Parasite and diet data were collected on a sub-sample (n = 10-14) of each fish species from each sample site. No target viral or bacterial pathogens were detected. A total of 6,089 parasites were recovered representing 26 genera. Prevalence of infection ranged from 33% to 100% in each fish host. Two new host records were reported. Results indicated host density, water size, diet and sampling time appeared to play a role in structuring the parasite communities at Fort McCoy Military Installation. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Becky Lasee for sharing her parasitology and fish health knowledge with me. Thank you for providing me the SCEP position and training opportunities throughout my employment with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, La Crosse Fish Health Center. I have learned more from this experience than can be explained, and I am very grateful for the opportunity. I would like to thank all of my committee members: Dr. Becky Lasee, Dr. Roger Haro, Dr. Gregory Sandland, and Dr. Michael Hoffman for teaching me things they spent their careers learning and feel passionate about. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm with me; I hope to pass the excitement and knowledge on to others. Thank you for your continued support, patience, advice, time and perspectives throughout my graduate career and the thesis writing process. I would like to thank Dr. Gregory Sandland and Dr. Abdul Elfessi for their patience and time explaining statistical concepts to me. I would like to thank staff at Fort McCoy Military Installation: John Noble, Steve Rood, and Ryan Ennis for their fish collection efforts, fish transportation, patience for parasite results, and answering questions about Fort McCoy. I would like to thank all of my co-workers at the La Crosse Fish Health Center for their continued support, fish health knowledge, advice, and entertainment. In particular, thank you Eric Leis, Corey Puzach, Ryan Katona, Lucas Purnell, Jessica Mollison, and Beka McCann for assisting taking lengths, weights, and tissue samples from the fish. Thanks to Corey Puzach and Jessica Mollison for processing the bacteriology samples. Thanks to Julie Teskie and Ryan Katona for processing the trout heads. iv I would like to thank friends and family (including my in-laws to be) for their love, encouragement, support, patience, interest and understanding throughout my graduate career. I would like to thank Eric Leis, my best friend and future husband, for all of his assistance with fish necropsies and parasite confirmations. Thank you for your advice, guidance and continued encouragement about my success. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………..viii LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………x LIST OF APPENDICES……………………………………………………….xiii INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..1 Viruses………………………………………………………………........3 Bacteria………………………………………………….…………..........6 Parasites………….…………………………………….……………........7 Diet……………………………………………………….…………........9 Host Species……………………………………………….……………..9 Study Objectives…..................................................................................13 METHODS………….……………………………………………………….....14 Site Description………………………………………………………...14 Fish Collection……………………………………………………........17 Bacteriology.……………………………………………………….......17 Virology..................................................................................................20 Parasitology……………………………………………………………22 Diet Analysis.…………………………………………………….........24 Statistical Analysis……………………………………………………..24 RESULTS……………………………………………………………………..26 Bacteriology and Virology……..…………………………………….. 26 Parasitology .…………………………………………………………...26 Diet……………………………………………………………………..43 vi PAGE DISCUSSION.………………………………………………………………….52 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………60 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………….68 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. List of target pathogens and parasites of freshwater fish at Fort McCoy Military Installation…………………………………...10 2. Pathogens that have been previously reported from bluegill, largemouth bass, brook trout and brown trout ………………………...11 3. Water type and population estimates from brook trout sample sites at Fort McCoy Military Installation ……………………………..14 4. Water type, site information, and population estimates for bluegill and largemouth bass sample sites at Fort McCoy Military Installation ……………………………...................................16 5. Locations, collection dates and fish species collected from 10 sampling sites from Fort McCoy Military Installation...........................18 6. Fish Species with appropriate cell lines and incubation temperature for detection of target viruses ……………………………21 7. Prevalence, mean intensity + one standard deviation, range of intensity of brook trout parasite taxa at Fort McCoy sampling sites…..30 8. Prevalence, mean intensity + one standard deviation, and range of intensity of parasite taxa infecting bluegill at Fort McCoy sampling sites ………………………………………………………….31 9. Parasite prevalence, mean intensity + one standard deviation, and range of intensity of parasite taxa infecting largemouth bass at Fort McCoy sampling sites ………………………………………...33 viii TABLE PAGE 10. Percentage of brown trout with each prey item in stomach contents at each sampling site ………………...……………………...45 11. Percentage of brook trout with prey item in stomach contents at each sampling site …………………………………………………47 12. Percentage of bluegill with each prey item in stomach contents at each sampling site …………………………………………………49 13. Percentage of largemouth bass with each prey item in stomach contents at each sampling site………………………………………...51 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Rivers, streams, and lakes on the Fort McCoy Military Installation (Monroe County, Wisconsin). The black stars represent brook trout sample locations, the white star represents brook trout, brown trout, and white suckers sample locations, the grey star represents brook and brown trout sample locations, red stars represent bluegill and largemouth bass sample locations, the green star represents bluegill sample location (Map courtesy of Fort McCoy).……………………………………………………….15 2. Photomicrograph of Onchocleidus sp. Inset showing anchors at higher magnification………………………………………………..28 3. Photomicrograph of Semichon’s acetic-carmine stained Crepidostomum cooperi. Inset showing anterior end showing oral sucker and papillae (counter-stained with fast green) at higher magnification ………………………………………………….28 4. Photomicrograph of anterior end of Camallanus sp …………….……29 5. Photomicrograph of Spinitectus carolini.……………………………..29 x FIGURE PAGE 6. Similarity dendrogram of parasite communities infecting largemouth bass at Fort McCoy. The horizontal gray line represents 70% similar evaluation line. On the horizontal axis, the first series of numbers represents the sampling site (09-157: West Sandy Lake, 09-164: Sparta Pond, 09-179: Big Sandy Lake, 09-199: Sandy Lake), LMB refers to largemouth bass, and the final number represents individual largemouth bass at each sampling location……………………………………………………...35 7. Distribution of the number of parasite taxa infecting brook trout at the Fort McCoy sampling sites ……………………………………..36 8. Parasite abundance (+ one standard error) infecting brook trout at the Fort McCoy sampling sites. A. All parasite species; B. Salmincola edwardsii; C. Mean length of brook trout examined for parasites from the Fort McCoy sampling sites.……..............................37 9. Distribution of the number of parasite taxa infecting bluegill at Fort McCoy sampling sites……………………………………………38 10. Parasite abundance (+ one standard error) infecting bluegill at the Fort McCoy sampling sites. A. All parasite species; B. Spinitectus carolini; C. Ancyrocephalidae; D. Posthodiplostomum Minimum; E. Proteocephalus sp.; F. Mean length of bluegill examined for parasites from the Fort McCoy sampling sites……………………39 xi FIGURE PAGE 11. Distribution of the number of parasite taxa infecting largemouth bass at the Fort McCoy sampling sites bluegill from the Fort McCoy sampling sites………………………………………………………….40 12. Parasite abundance (+ one standard error) infecting largemouth bass at the Fort McCoy sampling sites. A. All parasite species; B. Ancyrocephalidae; C. Proteocephalus sp.; D. Neoechinorhynchus tenellus; E. Mean length of largemouth bass examined for parasites from the Fort McCoy sampling sites…………………..………………41 13.