Abstract
The echinorhynchid acanthocephalan Acanthocephalus sp. was collected and described from four species of fishes (rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Sakhalin huchen Hucho perryi, Japanese pond smelt Hypomesus nipponensis, and threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus) from a lake system, the Tsugaru-Jūniko Lakes, in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan. In rainbow trout, the prevalence and intensity of infection markedly differed between lakes, and the fish were most frequently and most heavily infected in the lakes with a dense population of the isopod intermediate host Asellus hilgendorfi. In isopods, the prevalence of acanthocephalan larvae increased in the late winter and reached its highest level in March or April. In rainbow trout, male worms were abundant from winter to spring, and female worms were immature during these seasons. Gravid females were abundant in summer and autumn. These findings indicate that Acanthocephalus sp. is an annual species and its recruitment from the intermediate host to the fish occurs mainly in winter and spring.
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Received: January 9, 2002 / Accepted: April 18, 2002
Acknowledgments We thank Professor Shōichi Saito, Faculty of Education, Hirosaki University, for his encouragement during this study. Thanks are also due to many students of the Nature Study Laboratory, Faculty of Education, Hirosaki University, for their assistance in the field. We are greatly indebted to the Iwasaki Village Office and Fukaura Forestry Office for giving us permission for the survey.
Correspondence to:A. Ohtaka
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Ohtaka, A., Saito, T., Kakizaki, T. et al. Seasonal and regional occurrence of Acanthocephalus sp. (Acanthocephala: Echinorhynchidae) in fishes and isopods (Asellus hilgendorfi) in a lake system in northern Japan. Limnology 3, 0143–0150 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s102010200017
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s102010200017