Seasonal variations in a population of the monogenean Ancyrocephalus mogurndae Gussev, 1955 were investigated on gills of cage-cultured mandarin fish, Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky), during the period from April 1994 to April 1995. The abundance of A. mogurndae peaked in late spring and summer. Prevalence was high (75-100 %) throughout the study period, and did not vary significantly between months. More than 50 % of all monogeneans were found on the first and second gill arches, except one occasion when the fourth gill arch had the majority in April 1995. The niche breadths were significantly correlated with the population abundance. A coexistent parasitic myxosporean, Henneguya weishanensis Hu, 1965, on the gills of the fish was found to have little influence on the gill-arch preference of the monogenean, although the monogenean abundance was higher in those fish infected with the myxosporean.
By examining iron contents, it is demonstrated that the monogenean Ancyrocephalus mogurndae (Yamaguli, 1940) feeds on the blood of its host, the mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilcwsky), The iron content and then the quantity of blood necessary to produce this amount of iron are found different in young and fully-matured worms. Young worms contain higher levels of iron and estimated amount of blood. It is suggested that/1, mogurndae may start to feed on host blood as attached on gills, and the amount of blood ingested by young worms may vary from 0.01 to 1.00 μΙ before reproduction. The difference between young and fully-malurcd worms may be accounted for by the elimination of haematin and change of food composition in matured worms and may also be affected by reproduction. Experimental infections of the monogenean may provide supportive information for explaining the difference, and further studies should also examine the effect of immune components in host blood or mucus on the intestines of the parasite.