FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 1, 2005

Contacts

Deepwater Tapeworms in Round Gobies

Ann Arbor, MI — A small pathogenic tapeworm common to native fishes has now been detected in invasive round gobies. The occurrence in round gobies has provided new information about the ecology of this tapeworm that is frequently observed in the guts of trout, salmon, and whitefish in the Great Lakes.

Round gobies and native fishes were collected from Lake Huron in October 2001 and 2002, a time of year when round gobies migrate to deep waters for overwintering. Digestive tracts of all fish were examined for presence of tapeworms. Researchers discovered that

  1. none of gobies captured in shallow waters at depths of less than 47 meters were infected and
  2. infection of tapeworms in gobies in deep waters increased significantly with depths.

They also found that gobies fed heavily on deepwater amphipods, a suitable intermediate hosts of tapeworms.

Five native fish species trawled from deep waters were also infected with tapeworms. Tapeworms reside in gobies and other fishes for short periods of time before tapeworm eggs are released. These eggs sink to the lake bottom where they are ingested by deepwater amphipods and re-enter the food chain.

Original Publication Information

Results of this study "Occurrence of Cyathocephalus truncatus (Cestoda) in Fishes of the Great Lakes with Emphasis on its Occurrence in Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) from Lake Huron," are reported by John R. P. French III, Patrick M. Muzzall, Jean V. Adams, Kendra L. Johnson, Angela E. Flores and Andrea M. Winkel in the latest issue (Volume 31, No. 4, pp. 405-413) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2005.

Contacts

For information about this study, contact John R. P. French III, U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105; frenchjrp@usgs.gov; (734) 994-3331.

For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; editor@iaglr.org; (608) 692-1076.

Links

Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.