Survey of parasites in Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish) of the Savannah River Basin
Sav Cade
Ictalurus punctatus, more commonly known as the Channel Catfish, is common throughout the Savannah River Basin. Fifteen specimens were captured by hook and line from the Little River in McCormick County, South Carolina. The gills and viscera were examined for metazoan parasites and prevalence and mean intensity were computed. The monogenean Ligictaluridus pricei and the copepod Ergasilus arthrosis were recovered from the gills. Two digenetic trematodes (Megalonia ictaluri and Alloglossidium corti), one tapeworm (Corallobothrium fimbriatum), two nematodes (Camallanus oxycephalus and Spinitectus carolini) and one acanthocephalan (Neoechinorhynchus cylindratus) were recovered from the gastrointestinal tract. The two most commonly encountered parasites, Ligictaluridus pricei and Megalonia ictaluri, are restricted to catfish, whereas the other species are fairly ubiquitous parasites of freshwater fish.
Sav Cade attended and graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Math with a concentration in biology. Currently, they are a junior at Lander University majoring in biology with minors in psychology and history. Their current future plans are to attend graduate school at the University of Georgia and study ecology in their PhD program.
