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Lauterbornia 69: 29-35, D-86424 Dinkelscherben, 2010-05-10

The presence of Piscicola respirans (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) in The Netherlands

Menno Soes With 5 figures
Keywords: Piscicola, Piscicolidae, Hirudinea, The Netherlands, faunistics, ecology Schlagwrter: Piscicola, Piscicoliidae, Hirudinea, Niederlande, Faunistik, kologie Based on museum material and recent collecting the presence of Piscicola respirans Troschel, 1850 could be confirmed for The Netherlands. It seems actually likely that the species is anything but rare in Dutch rivers.

1 Introduction Although Piscicola respirans Troschel, 1850 has been mentioned in several publications as being indigenous to The Netherlands regularly uttered doubts urged for a confirmation of its occurrence. These doubts are partly based on the fact that fish leeches (Piscicolidae) are notoriously difficult to identify and are having an incompletely resolved taxonomy. Also clearly incorrect, published records were not of help for a solid acceptance. 2 Diagnosis P. respirans is actually relatively easy recognizable. The combination of the dorsoventral flattened body which is relatively wide, two pairs of eyes on the cranial sucker, the eleven pairs of pulsative vesicles which are unusually large, the large caudal sucker and the creamy body with black pigment cells, distinguishes P. respirans from all other species of freshwater Piscolidae known so far from Western Europe (Grosse, 2007, Nesemann & Neubert 1999, Bielecki 1997). 3 Dutch records P. respirans is listed by Maitland (1897) as being common in The Netherlands. This record is based on Horst (1898) and Hoek (1898) who during meetings of the "Nederlandsche Dierkundige Vereeniging" in 1896 showed both the same material collected from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). This material was finally identified by R. Blanchard (Paris) as P. respirans. According to Horst (1898) this constitutes the first record of this species for The Netherlands.

30 For confirmation both major Dutch zoological collections were checked for samples of P. respirans. In the collection of the National Museum of Natural History "Naturalis" in Leiden only one sample of P. respirans is present (RMNH 686). In the Zoological Museum Amsterdam no samples of this species are present at all (J. Bleeker, pers. com.). The label of the sample in Leiden tells us that these leeches have been collected by Th. W. van Lidth de Jeude in the "Haringvliet", The Netherlands by taking them from juvenile Atlantic salmon. Unfortunately no date is mentioned. Hoek (1898) mentions the lower tributary of the river Rhine as the collecting site. The Haringvliet is clearly part of this. So as Th. W. van Lidth de Jeude was active in the same period as P. P. C. Hoek and R. Horst it is most likely that this sample is actually the material shown at the meeting of the "Nederlandsche Dierkundige Vereeniging" in 1896. With the specimens undoubtedly being P. respirans (Fig. 1) this record is the first of this species for The Netherlands, making the listing by Maitland (1897) reliable.

Fig. 1: Piscicola respirans. The Leiden specimen RMNH 686

31 In the first major revision of the Dutch leech fauna (Dresscher et al., 1960) P. respirans is only reported from the Haringvliet, using the same record as Maitland (1897). Also in an updated version (Dresscher & Higler 1982) no more localities were added. In 2002, 2003 and 2009 some active collecting took place by P. Spaans and the author. Host fishes were caught by angling. Caught fishes were checked for the presence of P. respirans. Preserved specimens were identified in the laboratory, others were identified in the field. In total 12 records could be registered: 1. 1 ex., River Waal near Ochten, 17 April 2002 2. 6 ex., River Neder-Rijn near Wageningen, 23 & 27 March 2002, 10 April 2002 3. 1 ex., River IJssel near Deventer, 4 April 2003 4. 4 ex., River Neder-Rijn near Rhenen, 18 March 2003 5. 2 ex., River Neder-Rijn near Wageningen, 9 April 2003 6. 2 ex., River Neder-Rijn near Arnhem, 23 April 2009 7. 7 ex., Pannerdens Kanaal near Huissen, 5,11, 12 & 16 April 2009 Additional specimens (19 ex.) have been collected by W. Vergoossen in the period 14-04-20091505-2009 (Fig 2). These were taken from Atlantic salmon smolts caught for monitoring purposes in a fish ladder in the river Roer near Roermond. The Roer is a tributary of the river Meuse.

Fig. 2: Piscicola respirans. A specimen from the river Roer collected by W. Vergoossen

32 In figure 3 an overview of the distribution of the records is given. Specimens collected in the Neder-Rijn and the Roer will be deposited in the collection of National Museum of Natural History "Naturalis" in Leiden.

Fig. 3: Piscicola respirans. The known distribution in The Netherlands

4 Ecological notes All Dutch records of P. respirans are from large rivers belonging to the Rhine system, except the sample from the river Roer, which is a smaller river belonging to the Meuse system. Although records of P. respirans are rare the species seems to be actually rather common in the larger rivers of The Netherlands. The lack of records is understandable as the majority of the information on the distribution of Dutch leeches has been collected during standardized sampling of macrozoobenthos for monitoring purposes. These sample methods are not suitable for collecting P. respirans as this species spends almost his whole lifecycle attached to its host (Molls & Borcherding 1997). More sampling of leeches by picking them from their host will probably reveal an even wider occurrence of this species.

33 Due to the ample sampling of leeches directly from their hosts it is likely that also the actual spectrum of habitats which are occupied by P. respirans is not shown with the reported records. This species is e.g. also known to occur in smaller streams (Hoffmann 1955) and might be expected to occur is such in for example the southern part of The Netherlands. Also presence or absence in lakes and smaller channels within the Netherlands warrants further investigation. Host fishes of P. respirans in the Netherlands known so far are Bream (Abramis brama), White bream (Blicca bjoerkna), Roach (Rutilus rutilus), Ide (Leuciscus idus) and Atlantic salmon. With several other host species reported in literature, such as European eel (Anguilla anguilla), Chub (Squalius cephalus) and Brown trout (Salmo trutta), a much wider use is also anticipated in The Netherlands (Bielecki, 1997). All specimens have been collected in the period March - Mai. In contrast to reports in literature no specimens have been found in June, although sampling was considerable during this period. An interesting aspect of the life cycle of P. respirans is that it occurs on its hosts in a period which is relatively favourable for dispersion. During March - Mai (June) major migrations in the fish populations take place. Examples are the spawning migrations of the ide and the seaward migration of the Atlantic salmon smolts. Attached P. respirans specimens are in this way able to travel passively over considerable distances (Winter & Fredrich 2003; Labar et al., 1978). In general health effects of fish leeches on their host are not considered to be problematic. Only extreme heavy infestations or infestations of already weakened fish are thought to have serious deleterious effects. Excessive numbers of fish leeches are rare in the wild and are almost only encountered in pond culture. But damage caused by the fish leeches to skin or gill areas opens portals of entry to secondary pathogens which might cause health problems, especially in already weakened fish. Also it should be considered that fish leeches are known vectors for several serious fish diseases (Post 1987). P. respirans is a relatively large fish leech making it more likely to cause these negative effects. In several fishes with attached P. respirans hemorrhages around the point of attachment were seen. This was especially visible in the tailfin (Fig. 45). 5 Conclusion The fish leech P. respirans is anticipated to be a rather common member of Dutch fish parasite communities attacking a broad spectrum of freshwater fishes in The Netherlands. Noted haemorrhages suggest that this species might be among the more harmful fish leeches occurring in The Netherlands, even when the possibility of being a vector is not considered.

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Fig. 4: Piscicola respirans. Attached to an ide (Leuciscus idus). Photo: P. Spaans

Fig. 5: Piscicola respirans. Attached to the tailfin of Leuciscus idus. Photo: P. Spaans

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Acknowledgements Piet Spaans and Willem Vergoossen are thanked for actively collecting specimens. J. Bleeker has been helpful by checking the collection of the Zoological Museum Amsterdam for specimens. References Bielecki, A. (1997): Fish leeches of Poland in relation to the Paleartic piscicolines (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae: Piscicolinae).- Genus 8(2): 223-378, Wroclaw Dresscher, Th. G. N., H. Engel & A. Middelhoek (1960): De Nederlandse bloedzuigers (Hirudinea).- Wetenschappelijke Mededelingen no. 39, (KNNV) Utrecht Dresscher, Th. G. N., & L. W. G. Higler (1982): De Nederlandse bloedzuigers, Hirudinea.Wetenschappelijke Mededelingen no. 154, (KNNV) Utrecht Grosser, C. (2007): Piscicola respirans (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) - Erstnachweis in Sachsen-Anhalt.Lauterbornia 59: 19-44, Dinkelscherben Hoek, P. P. C. (1898): Mededeeling.- Tijdschrift der Nederlandsche Dierkundige Vereeniging 2(5): 67, Leiden Hoffmann, J. (1955): Faune hirudinenne du Grand-Duch de Luxembourg.- Archives de la Section des Sciences de lInstitut Grand-Ducal Nouvelle Srie 22: 175-211, Luxembourg Horst, R. (1898): Mededeeling.- Tijdschrift Nederlandse Dierkundige Vereeniging 2(5): 74, Leiden Labar, G. W., J. D. McCleave & S. M. Fried (1978): Seaward migration of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in the Penobscot River estuary, Maine: open-water movements.ICES Journal of Marine Science 38(2): 257-269, Oxford Maitland, R. T. (1897): Prodrome de la Faune des Pays-Bas et de la Belgique Flemande.- 62 pp., (E.J. Brill) Leiden Molls, F., & J. Borcherding (1997): Der Fischegel Cystobranchus respirans (Troschel 1850) am unteren Niederrhein mit neuen Daten zur Phnologie und zum Wirtfischspektrum.- Lauterbornia 28: 37-44, Dinkelscherben Nesemann, H., & E. Neubert (1999): Annelida, Clitellata: Branchiobdellida, Acanthobdella, Hirudinea.- In: Schwoerbel, J. & P. Zwick (eds): Swasserfauna von Mitteleuropa. 6/2, 178 pp., Heidelberg Post, G. (1987): Revised and Expanded Textbook of Fish Health.- T. F. H. Publications, New Jersey Winter, H. V., & F. Fredrich (2003): Migration behavior of ide: a comparison between the rivers Vecht, The Netherlands, and Elbe, Germany.- Journal of Fish Biology 63: 1-10, Leicester Addresses of the author: Ir. D.M. Soes, National Museum of Natural History "Naturalis", P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands & Bureau Waardenburg P.O. Box 365, 4100 AJ Culemborg, The Netherlands. E-mail: menno.soes@gmail.com. Received: 2009-12-02 Accepted: 2010-02-12

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