Disease
Female (left) and male (right) Cutthroat Trout. Female with gill maggots on base of her right pectoral and pelvic fins.
Female (left) and male (right) Searun Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii). Female is infested with gill maggots (Salminicola californiensis) on base of her right pectoral and pelvic fins.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonarthropodArthropodaChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass HexanaupliaCoastal Cutthroat TroutCordovaEccles CreekInfraclass TeleosteiInvertebrateLernaeopodidaeNeopterygiiOncorhynchus clarkiiOncorhynchus clarkii clarkiiOrder SiphonosstomatoidaPacific troutPhylum ArthropodaPhylum ChordataPrince William SoundSalmincola californiensisSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSearun Coastal Cutthroat TroutSouth Central AlaskaSpringSubclass CopepodaSubclass NeopterygiiSubphyllum CrustaceaTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordatecopepodcrustaceandiadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwatergill licegill maggotin situiteroparityiteroparousloticmarine lifemigratorynaturalworldnatureparasitesearunstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowildwild salmonwild trout
Spawning act
Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the act of spawning. A sneaker male that rushed in after spawning commenced is gaping close to the camera revealing several gill lice (Salmincola californiensis) in its mouth.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaarthropodArthropodaAutumnChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass HexanaupliaCoho SalmonInfraclass TeleosteiInvertebrateLernaeopodidaeNeopterygiiOncorhynchus kisutchOrder SiphonosstomatoidaPacific salmonPhylum ArthropodaPhylum ChordataSalmincola californiensisSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSilver SalmonSouth Central AlaskaSubclass CopepodaSubclass NeopterygiiSubphyllum CrustaceaTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebrateanadromousanadromybiospherechordatecopepodcrustaceandiadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwatergill licegill maggotin situloticmigratorynaturalworldnatureparasitesemelparitysemelparousspawningspawning actspawning behaviorstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwaterphotowild
Gaping male Coho salmon with parasites in mouth.
Gaping male Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) revealing parasitic copeods (Salmincola californiensis) known as gill maggots) in his mouth. Aspect ratio = 2:3.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonarthropodArthropodaAutumnChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass HexanaupliaCoho SalmonInfraclass TeleosteiInvertebrateLernaeopodidaeNeopterygiiOncorhynchus kisutchOrder SiphonosstomatoidaPacific salmonPhylum ArthropodaPhylum ChordataSalmincola californiensisSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSilver SalmonSouth Central AlaskaSubclass CopepodaSubclass NeopterygiiSubphyllum CrustaceaTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebrateanadromousanadromous fishanadromybiospherechordatecopepodcrustaceandiadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwatergill licegill maggotin situloticmarine lifemigratorynaturalworldnatureparasitesemelparitysemelparousstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowildwild salmon
Searun Coastal Cutthroat Trout in a small stream
Searun Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) in the dappled light of a small tributary of Prince William Sound, Alaska. There are Salminicola parasites on the right pectoral fin of the nearest trout.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonarthropodArthropodaChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass HexanaupliaCoastal Cutthroat TroutCordovaEccles CreekInfraclass TeleosteiInvertebrateLernaeopodidaeNeopterygiiOncorhynchus clarkiiOncorhynchus clarkii clarkiiOrder SiphonosstomatoidaPacific troutPhylum ArthropodaPhylum ChordataPrince William SoundSalmincola californiensisSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSearun Coastal Cutthroat TroutSouth Central AlaskaSpringSubclass CopepodaSubclass NeopterygiiSubphyllum CrustaceaTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordatecopepodcrustaceandappled lightdiadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwatergill maggotin situiteroparityiteroparousloticmarine lifemigratorynaturalworldnaturesearunstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowildwild salmonwild trout
Streaming tapeworms
Loose tapewrorms (cestodes) snagged and streaming off of woody debris in a salmon stream. The source (host) of these tapeworms is unknown to me.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonAutumnChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass CestodaCoho SalmonInfraclass TeleosteiInvertebrateNeopterygiiOncorhynchus kisutchPacific salmonPhylum ChordataPhylum PlatyhelminthesPlatyhelminthesSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSilver SalmonSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordateflatwormfresh waterfreshwaterin situloticmarine lifenaturalworldnaturestreamtapewormsunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowildwild salmon
Round Whitefish infected with Saprolegnia
Round Whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) infected with the protozoan Saprolegnia on its cadal peduncle in an Alaska, USA stream during the summer.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonChinook SalmonChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass OomycotaCoregoninaeFamily SaprolegniaceaeInfraclass TeleosteiKing SalmonKingdom ChromalveolataNeopterygiiOncorhynchus tshawytschaOrder SaprolegnialesPacific salmonPhylum ChordataPhylum HeterokontophytaPlantProsopium cylindraceumRound WhitefishSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSaprolegniaSeacam underwater housingSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiSummerSuperphylum AlveolataTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordatecotton moldfresh waterfreshwaterin situiteroparityiteroparousloticmigratorynaturalworldnatureunderwaterunderwaterphotowild
Sockeye Salmon with Lamprey scar
Mature Sockeye Salmon (Oncohynchus nerka) female on spawning grounds with partially healed Lamprey scar.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonChordataClass ActinopterygiiInfraclass TeleosteiNeopterygiiOncorhynchus nerkaPacific salmonPhylum ChordataRed SalmonSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSeacam underwater housingSockeye SalmonSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebrateanadromousanadromybiospherechordatediadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwaterin situlamprey scarloticmigratorynaturalworldnaturesemelparitysemelparousstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwaterphotowildwild salmon
Pacific Herring
Underwater view of juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii; Clupeidae) rearing in Cordova harbor, Prince William Sound, South Central Alaska. Sea lice (Caligus clemensi; Copepoda: Caligidae) are attached to some of the herring.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonAutumnChordataClass ActinopterygiiClupea pallasiiClupeidaeHarborInfraclass TeleosteiNeopterygiiPacific HerringPhylum ChordataSeacam underwater housingSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordateherring researchin situmarine lifenaturalworldnatureunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowild
Spawned-out Pink (humpback) Salmon covered with Saprolegnia
Spawned-out Pink (humpback) Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) covered by the protozoan referred to as cotton mold (Saprolegnia) beginning the decomposition process that will eventually transform the carcass to mineral nutrients. Photo taken under water in Hartney Creek, a tributary of Prince William Sound. Summer, South Central Alaska.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonChordataClass ActinopterygiiClass OomycotaFamily SaprolegniaceaeHumpback SalmonInfraclass TeleosteiKingdom ChromalveolataNeopterygiiOncorhynchus gorbuschaOrder SaprolegnialesPacific salmonPhylum ChordataPhylum HeterokontophytaPink SalmonPlantSalmonidaeSalmoniformesSalmoninaeSaprolegniaSeacam underwater housingSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiSuperphylum AlveolataTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebrateanadromousanadromybiospherechordatecotton molddiadromousdiadromyfresh waterfreshwaterin situloticmigratorynaturalworldnaturesearunsemelparitysemelparousstreamunder fresh waterunderwaterunderwaterphotowildwild salmon
Quillback Rockfish
Quillback Rockfish (Sebastes maliger) with a parasitic isopod on its dorsal fin. Aspect ratio = 4:5.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonBarkley SoundBritish ColumbiaCanadaChordataChup PointClass ActinopterygiiInfraclass TeleosteiNeopterygiiPhylum ChordataQuillback RockfishRendezvous Dive AdventuresScorpaenidaeScorpaeniformesSeacamSeacam underwater housingSebastes maligerSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiTeleostTeleosteiTyler RockUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordatein situmarinemarine lifenaturalworldnatureparasitescubascuba divingunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowild
Black Rockfish
Black Rockfish (Sebastes melanops) with a parasitic copepod with twin egg cases on a dorsal fin spine. Aspect Ratio = 2:3.
ActinopterygiiAlaskaAlaska wild salmonBarkley SoundBlack RockfishBritish ColumbiaCanadaChordataClass ActinopterygiiInfraclass TeleosteiNeopterygiiPhylum ChordataScorpaenidaeScorpaeniformesSeacam underwater housingSebastes melonopsSouth Central AlaskaSubclass NeopterygiiTeleostTeleosteiUnited StatesVertebratebiospherechordatein situmarinemarine lifenaturalworldnatureparasitescubascuba divingunderwaterunderwater photographyunderwaterphotowild