Abstract
This study assessed the diets and parasites of larval and 0+ juvenile twaite shad Alosa fallax fallax in the lower reaches and estuaries of the rivers Wye, Usk and Towy, UK. There were significant differences between the diets of larvae and co-habiting 0+ juveniles, and of larvae and 0+ juveniles among sites, both within and among rivers. In the Wye and Usk, the diets of twaite shad larvae were dominated by chironomid larvae, whereas those in the Towy specialised upon cyclopoid copepods. The diets of 0+ juvenile twaite shad from freshwater (River Wye) were characterised by chironomid larvae, while estuarine (Towy Estuary) individuals specialised upon calanoid copepods. Parasites infecting 0+ twaite shad were Apiosoma sp. (Protozoa), Gyrodactylus sp. (Monogenea), Proleptinae (Nematoda) larvae, Pomphorhynchus laevis (Acanthocephala), Spinitectus sp. (Nematoda) larvae and Trichodina sp. (Protozoa). Over 60% of estuarine 0+ juvenile twaite shad were infected with Apiosoma sp., with maximal estimated loadings in excess of 3,000 parasites per fish. Other parasite taxa were generally present in only small numbers. There were no significant differences in the intensity of parasite infections among sites, or the condition of parasitised and non-parasitised 0+ twaite shad.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aprahamian, M. W., 1985. The effect of the migration of Alosa fallax fallax (Lacépède) into fresh water, on branchial and gut parasites. Journal of Fish Biology 27: 521–532.
Aprahamian, M. W., 1989. The diet of juvenile and adult twaite shad Alosa fallax fallax (Lacépède) from the rivers Severn and Wye (Britain). Hydrobiologia 179: 173–182.
Aprahamian, M. W., J. L. Baglinière, M. R. Sabatié, P. Alexandrino, R. Thiel & C. D. Aprahamian, 2003. Biology, status, and conservation of the anadromous Atlantic twaite shad Alosa fallax fallax. American Fisheries Society Symposium 35: 103–124.
Bagenal, T. B. & F. W. Tesch, 1978. Age and growth. In Bagenal, T. B. (ed.), Methods for the Assessment of Fish Production in Fresh Waters. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford: 101–136.
Bakke, T. A., P. D. Harris & J. Cable, 2002. Host specificity dynamics: observations on gyrodactylid monogeneans. International Journal for Parasitology 32: 281–308.
Barber, I., D. Hoare & J. Krause, 2000. Effects of parasites on fish behaviour: a review and evolutionary perspective. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 10: 131–165.
Brown, A. F., J. C. Chubb & C. J. Veltkamp, 1986. A key to the species of Acanthocephala parasitic in British freshwater fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 28: 327–334.
Bush, A. O., K. D. Lafferty, J. M. Lotz & A. W. Shostak, 1997. Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology 83: 575–583.
Castillo-Rivera, M., A. Kobelkowsky & A. M. Chávez, 2000. Feeding biology of the flatfish Citharichthys spilopterus (Bothidae) in a tropical estuary of Mexico. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 16: 73–78.
Chubb, J. C., 1965. Mass occurrence of Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller), Monticelli 1905 (Acanthocephala) in the chub Squalius cephalus (L.) from the River Avon, Hampshire. Parasitology 55: 5.
Claridge, P. N. & D. C. Gardner, 1978. Growth and movements of the twaite shad, Alosa fallax (Lacépède), in the Severn Estuary. Journal of Fish Biology 12: 203–211.
Copp, G. H., 1990. Shifts in the microhabitats of larval and juvenile roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.), in a floodplain channel. Journal of Fish Biology 36: 683–692.
Cowx, I. G., A. D. Nunn & J. P. Harvey, 2001. Quantitative sampling of 0-group fish populations in large lowland rivers: point abundance sampling by electric fishing versus micromesh seine netting. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 151: 369–382.
Denham, K. L. & J. Long, 1999. Occurrence of Gyrodactylus thymalli Zitnan, 1960 on grayling, Thymallus thymallus (L.), in England. Journal of Fish Diseases 22: 247–252.
Doherty, D. & T. K. McCarthy, 2002. Aspects of the ecology, parasites and future conservation of twaite shad, Alosa fallax, and allis shad, Alosa alosa, in south-eastern Ireland. In Collares-Pereira, M. J., I. G. Cowx & M. M. Coelho (eds), Conservation of Freshwater Fishes: Options for the Future. Fishing News Books/Blackwell Science, Oxford: 98–112.
Doherty, D., N. O’Maoiléidigh & T. K. McCarthy, 2004. The biology, ecology and future conservation of twaite shad (Alosa fallax Lacépède), allis shad (Alosa alosa L.) and killarney shad (Alosa fallax killarnensis Regan) in Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 104B: 93–102.
Dytham, C., 2003. Choosing and Using Statistics: A Biologist’s Guide. Blackwell Science, Oxford.
Fitter, R. & R. Manuel, 1986. Guide to the Freshwater Life of Britain and North-West Europe. William Collins & Sons, London.
Garner, P., 1996. Microhabitat use and diet of 0+ cyprinid fishes in a lentic, regulated reach of the River Great Ouse, England. Journal of Fish Biology 48: 367–382.
Garner, P., J. A. B. Bass & G. D. Collett, 1996. The effects of weed cutting upon the biota of a large regulated river. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 6: 21–29.
Gerkens, M. & R. Thiel, 2001. Habitat use of age-0 twaite shad (Alosa fallax Lacépède, 1803) in the tidal freshwater region of the Elbe River, Germany. Bulletin Français de la Pêche et de la Pisciculture 362/363: 773–784.
Harding, J. P. & W. A. Smith, 1974. A Key to the British Freshwater Cyclopoid and Calanoid Copepods. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside.
Hayward, P., A. Nelson-Smith & C. Shields, 1996. Guide to the Sea Shore of Britain and Europe. Harper Collins, London.
Hillman, R. J., I. G. Cowx & J. P. Harvey, 2003. A Standardised Survey and Monitoring Protocol for the Assessment of Shad Populations within SAC Rivers. English Nature, Peterborough.
Hine, P. M. & C. R. Kennedy, 1974. Observations on the distribution, specificity and pathogenicity of the acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller). Journal of Fish Biology 6: 521–535.
Johnsen, B. O. & A. Jensen, 1991. The Gyrodactylus story in Norway. Aquaculture 98: 289–302.
Kennedy, C. R., 1974. A checklist of British and Irish freshwater fish parasites with notes on their distribution. Journal of Fish Biology 6: 613–644.
Kennedy, C. R., 1981. The occurrence of Eubothrium fragile (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidae) in twaite shad, Alosa fallax (Lacépède) in the River Severn. Journal of Fish Biology 19: 171–177.
Kennedy, C. R. & D. J. Fitch, 1990. Colonization, larval survival and epidemiology of the nematode Anguillicola crassus, parasitic in the eel, Anguilla anguilla, in Britain. Journal of Fish Biology 36: 117–131.
Lom, J. & I. Dyková, 1992. Protozoan Parasites of Fishes. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam.
Longshaw, M., P. A. Frear & S. W. Feist, 2005. Descriptions, development and pathogenicity of myxozoan (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) parasites of juvenile cyprinids (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Journal of Fish Diseases 28: 489–508.
Maitland, P. S. & T. W. Hatton-Ellis, 2003. Ecology of the Allis and Twaite Shad. English Nature, Peterborough.
Maitland, P. S. & A. A. Lyle, 2005. Ecology of allis shad Alosa alosa and twaite shad Alosa fallax in the Solway Firth, Scotland. Hydrobiologia 534: 205–221.
Moravec, F., 1994. Parasitic Nematodes of Freshwater Fishes of Europe. Kluwer Academic Publishers, London.
Nedeva, I., G. Atanassov, E. Karaivanova, P. Cakic & M. Lenghardt, 2003. Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller, 1776) from the River Danube. Experimental Pathology and Parasitology 6: 14–16.
Nunn, A. D., J. P. Harvey & I. G. Cowx, 2007a. The food and feeding relationships of larval and 0+ year juvenile fishes in lowland rivers and connected waterbodies. I. Ontogenetic shifts and interspecific diet similarity. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 726–742.
Nunn, A. D., J. P. Harvey & I. G. Cowx, 2007b. The food and feeding relationships of larval and 0+ year juvenile fishes in lowland rivers and connected waterbodies. II. Prey selection and the influence of gape. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 743–757.
Nunn, A. D., J. P. Harvey & I. G. Cowx, 2007c. Benefits to 0+ fishes of connecting man-made waterbodies to the lower River Trent, England. River Research and Applications 23: 361–376.
Nunn, A. D., J. P. Harvey & I. G. Cowx, 2007d. Variations in the spawning periodicity of eight fish species in three English lowland rivers over a 6 year period, inferred from 0+ year fish length distributions. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 1254–1267.
Oesmann, S. & R. Thiel, 2001. Feeding of juvenile twaite shad (Alosa fallax Lacépède, 1803) in the Elbe estuary. Bulletin Français de la Pêche et de la Pisciculture 362/363: 785–800.
Peeler, E. J., R. Gardiner & M. A. Thrush, 2004. Qualitative risk assessment of routes of transmission of the exotic fish parasite Gyrodactylus salaris between river catchments in England and Wales. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 64: 175–189.
Peňáz, M., 2001. A general framework of fish ontogeny: a review of the ongoing debate. Folia Zoologica 50: 241–256.
Saraiva, A., F. Moravec, A. Pereira & C. Cruz, 2002. Development of Spinitectus inermis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), a parasite of eel, Anguilla anguilla, in Europe. Folia Parasitologica 49: 118–126.
Sautour, B. & J. Castel, 1995. Comparative spring distribution of zooplankton in three macrotidal European estuaries. Hydrobiologia 311: 139–151.
Scourfield, D. J. & J. P. Harding, 1966. A Key to the British Freshwater Cladocera. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside.
Shinn, A. P., D. I. Gibson & C. Sommerville, 2001. Morphometric discrimination of Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg (Monogenea) from species of Gyrodactylus parasitising British salmonids using novel parameters. Journal of Fish Diseases 24: 83–97.
Soetaert, K. & P. Van Rijswijk, 1993. Spatial and temporal patterns of the zooplankton in the Westerschelde estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 97: 47–59.
Taverny, C., 1991. Pêche, Biologie, Écologie des Aloses dans le Système Gironde-Garonne-Dordogne. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Bordeaux.
Taverny, C. & P. Elie, 2001. Feeding habits of allis shad Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1766) and twaite shad Alosa fallax (Lacépède, 1803) in the bay of Biscay. Bulletin Français de la Pêche et de la Pisciculture 362/363: 803–852.
Todd, C. D., M. S. Laverack & G. A. Boxshall, 1996. Coastal Marine Zooplankton. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Viroux, L., 1997. Zooplankton development in two large lowland rivers, the Moselle (France) and the Meuse (Belgium), in 1993. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 1743–1762.
Wanzenböck, J. & F. Schiemer, 1989. Prey detection in cyprinids during early development. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46: 995–1001.
Werner, E. E. & J. F. Gilliam, 1984. The ontogenetic niche and species interactions in size-structured populations. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 15: 393–425.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) for funding the work. Thanks are also due to CCW, the Environment Agency and numerous angling clubs for granting permission to undertake the surveys. Darren Rollins and Jonathan Bolland provided valuable assistance in the collection of field data. Many thanks also to Dr Matt Longshaw for identifying the Gyrodactylus sp., and Dr František Moravec and Dr Chris Williams for identifying the nematodes.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling editor: S. Wellekens
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nunn, A.D., Noble, R.A.A., Harvey, J.P. et al. The diets and parasites of larval and 0+ juvenile twaite shad in the lower reaches and estuaries of the rivers Wye, Usk and Towy, UK. Hydrobiologia 614, 209–218 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9507-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9507-9