Identification of Trematodes in Waterfowl in the Upper Mississippi Flyaway. A Parasitology Class Project

Kryzsko Commons Ballroom, Winona, Minnesota

Ducks are hosts to numerous external and internal parasites, with one of the most prevalent being trematodes from the Class Trematoda within the phylum Platyhelminthes. The purpose of this study was to identify species of ecto and endoparasites of 68 ducks. This was performed to contribute to the overall understanding of parasitic prevalence in waterfowl populations in the Mississippi Flyaway in Winona County, MN, Buffalo County, and Trempealeau County, WI. This portion of the study focused on obtaining morphological and molecular data to identify trematode species found within the ducks. Ducks were legally harvested and donated by local hunters. We followed the protocol for parasite staining and slide mounting adapted from Dr. Vasyl Tkach, University of North Dakota to stain and mount trematode species found in the ducks. Furthermore, a Chelex DNA extraction was performed on unknown trematodes and stored in a freezer for future research. The quantification results via nanodrop indicated good DNA quantities with little to no contamination issues. The next step of our research is to utilize PCR and sequencing to further analyze and identify the trematode species found in local ducks.