Deree: Age and growth, dietary habits, and parasitism of Enchelyopus cimbrius 



45 



laticauda and G. phycidis ranged from 1.26 to 1.34 

 mm and from 1.38 to 1.76 mm, respectively. Both 

 digenetic trematodes were found in low prevalence 

 (4.7% and 1.4%, respectively) (Table 6). 



The prevalence of infection of Raphidascarinidae 

 sp. steadily increased from 8.3% in 1-year-olds to 

 100.0% in 9-year-olds (Table 7). The prevalence of G. 

 erinaceus fluctuated but generally increased with fish 

 age. There was an increase in infection from 9.1% to 

 20.0% and 25.0%, respectively by Raphidascarinidae 

 sp. and G. erinaceus in 2- and 3-year-old fish. Infec- 

 tion by G. laticauda and G. phycidis was minimal in 



all size classes. All helminths in all year classes were 

 found in low abundance. 



Discussion 



Age and growth 



The age distribution of the sample comprised pri- 

 marily of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old E. cimbrius, with a 

 maximum age of 9. The maximum age attained by 

 this species in the Gulf of Maine is similar to that 



