Parasite Assemblages Infecting Native Versus An Introduced Population of Yellow Bass

The parasite assemblage infecting yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) inhabiting their native range was compared to the assemblage infecting an introduced population. The gills and alimentary canal of 47 yellow bass collected from the Mississippi River (native) and 41 yellow bass collected from Otter Creek Lake in Tama County, Iowa, (introduced) were examined for metazoan parasites. Species richness was higher in the sample from the native population compared to the introduced sample (8 versus 3, respectively). Yellow bass from the introduced sample hosted species that were generalist fish parasites, and these infections were at low intensities. On the other hand, yellow bass from the native sample were infected with high numbers of Allacanthochasmus varius and Neochasmus umbellus, which have been reported from a smaller number of fish hosts, and in the case of A. varius, primarily in genus Morone