Bacterial, viral and parasitic assessments of Walleye (Sander vitreum), Sauger (Sander canadensis), and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) in the Wisconsin Mississippi River drainage

Abstract

Yellow perch, walleye, and sauger were examined to determine the presence of target pathogens and to describe parasite communities. The scale of this investigation is within the Upper Mississippi River Drainage. Data were compiled from five collection sites, three lakes and two pools from the Mississippi River, in the state of Wisconsin. At least 21 fish from each site were sampled. No viral or bacterial pathogens were detected. Yellow perch had significantly greater mean parasite taxa (0 = 3.95) than walleye (0 = 2.77) and sauger (0 = 2.35). Walleye from Lake Owen had significantly greater mean parasite taxa (0 = 4.00) than walleye from Upper Mississippi River Pools 8 and 9 (mean = 1.98). However the mean parasite taxa of walleye (0 = 1.98) was not significantly different than mean parasite taxa of sauger (0 = 2.35) from Upper Mississippi River Pools 8 and 9. Yellow perch and walleye also had significantly greater mean total parasite count (0 = 34.2 yellow perch and 0 = 30.9 walleye) than sauger (0 = 11.1). The three lakes had significantly greater percid parasite taxa than the Upper Mississippi River Pools 8 and 9. The cestode Bothriocephalus cuspidatus was the most dominant species in walleye (Berger-Parker dominance = 0.45) and sauger (Berger-Parker dominance = 0.29). The digenetic trematode Bunodera sacculata was the most dominant species in yellow perch (Berger-Parker dominance = 0.41). This is the first report describing parasite communities from the three percid species from the five collection sites.