Recruitment of Helminth Parasites by Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) Using a Modified Live-Box Technique

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Abstract
A modification of the live‐box technique was used in studying the recruitment of helminth parasites by bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus, during the summer of 1973–74 in Gull Lake, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Simultaneously, an approximately even number of L. macrochirus were captured by hook and line and the parasite fauna compared with that of tethered bluegills. The results show that the nature of the parasite faunas in the two groups of fish is similar. Results of tether experiments indicate that the acanthocephalan, Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli, was recruited at a higher rate early in the summer, then declined while Leptorhynchoides thecatus was initially recruited slowly, then increased in rate as P. bulbocolli was declining. The spatial distribution of L. thecatus indicated a preference for the ceca and anterior two‐thirds of the intestine while P. bulbocolli localized most frequently in the anterior two‐thirds of the intestine. While there was a zone of overlap for the two species, there was no indication of competitive exclusion after comparing single versus mixed infections of the two species.

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