Metazoan Parasites of Young-of-the-Year Paddlefish from Lewis and Clark Lake, Nebraska, U.S.A.

Young-of-the-year paddlefish, Polyodon spathula (Polyodontidae), from Lewis and Clark Lake, an impoundment of the Missouri River in Nebraska, U.S.A., were surveyed for parasites. In 2001 and 2002, 28 and 48 fish were examined for parasites, respectively. Only the nematode Rhabdochona decaturensis infected fish collected in 2001, but 8 parasite taxa (R. decaturensis, Spinitectus sp., Camallanus sp., Contracaecum sp., Marsipometra sp., Diclybothrium hamulatum, Ergasilus elongatus, and 1 unidentified leech) infected fish collected in 2002. Rhabdochona decaturensis was the most common parasite, occurring in 21.4% of fish in 2001 and 79.2% of fish in 2002. Prevalence of other parasite species infecting fish from 2002 was 33% or less. The helminth community of young-of-the-year paddlefish in both years was dominated by nematodes. This study is the first report on parasites of young-of-the-year paddlefish and documents a new host record for R. decaturensis