Communications: Prevalence of the Parasite Cystoopsis acipenseri (Nematoda) in Juvenile White Sturgeons in the Lower Columbia River

Abstract

Juvenile white sturgeons Acipenser transmontanus in the lower Columbia River (downstream from the lowermost dam) of Oregon and Washington were examined for the nematode parasite Cystoopsis acipenseri from 1987 through 199I. Prevalence of the parasite in juvenile white sturgeons varied annually, ranging from l% in 1989 to 14% in 1987. Fork lengths of infected white sturgeons ranged from 240 to 452 mm.