PARASITES OF ALEWIVES, ALOSA-PSEUDOHARENGUS, FROM THE GREAT-LAKES

A total of 302 alewives, Alosa pseudoharengus (Clupeidae), were collected from 2 locations in Lake Michigan and from Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, between May 1990 and July 1992 and examined for parasites. Ten parasite species (2 Trematoda, 4 Cestoda, 1 Nematoda, 1 Acanthocephala, 1 Copepoda, and 1 Protozoa) infected alewives from Lake Michigan, with Echinorhynchus salmonis Muller, 1784, being most common. Diplostomum sp., Contracaecum sp., and Ergasilus luciopercarum Henderson, 1927, infrequently infected alewives from Saginaw Bay. Alewives from Ludington, Michigan, had the highest mean parasite species richness (0.7229). A summary and comparison of the parasites found in alewives from the Great Lakes are presented with 22 parasite species reported. This information revealed that the alewife is an important intermediate and transport host for helminths that mature in piscivorous fishes and birds in the Great Lakes area.