HELMINTH PARASITISM IN A FLOCK OF DOMESTIC GEESE INTRODUCED TO ARCTIC SUMMER CONDITIONS IN CANADA

Abstract

The trematode, Notocotylus attenuatus, was found in 22 of 57 Pilgrim geese reared under Arctic summer conditions at False River, Quebec. The only other helminth found was a single specimen of a hymenolepidid cestode. That more species of helminths were not found is noteworthy and is understandable on the basis of the location of the flock, its management, and the Arctic environment. A possible correlation between the sex of the goose, its weight, or both these factors, and parasitism by N. attenuatus is noted.