Corynosoma acanthocephalans in their paratenic fish hosts in the northern Baltic Sea

Cystacanth stages of three Corynosoma (Acanthocephala) species, C. strumosum and C. semerme, and a new species in the Bothnian Bay, C. magdaleni, were studied in the fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) in 1996-1997. The length of the trunk and proboscis differentiated the three species in the fish. The stability of the Corynosoma infection was studied by comparing the present results with those collected from the same areas (central and coastal) in 1977-1982 (Valtonen, 1983a). As C. magdaleni and C. strumosum were not separated at that time, the joint infections of these two species (called "C. strumosum") were compared. The stability of infection with C. semerme in the central Bothnian Bay was noticeable (prevalences were 82.9 in earlier period and 81.9% in later period), while the prevalences of "C. strumosum" in the same areas had decreased (21 and 13.5%, respectively). This is suggested to be due to the disappearance of the marine bull-rout, Myoxocephalus scorpius, from the Bothnian Bay during the 1990s due to an overall decline in salinity throughout the Baltic Sea. In the coastal area Corynosoma infection was clearly lower than in central area in both periods.