Sexual and age characteristics of the parasitofauna of Abramis brama (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae) of the Lower Irtysh (Russia)
Sexual and age characteristics of the parasitofauna of Abramis brama (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae) of the Lower Irtysh (Russia)

Summary/Abstract: In the present study, an evaluation was made of the dependence between infections by various types of parasites and the sex and age of the host. The parasitic community of Abramis brama includes 24 species of parasites. We assessed the degree of infestation by parasites in groups of male, female and juvenile specimens. It was established that only male bream were infested with Zschokkella nova (Klokacewa, 1914), Hysteromorpha triloba (Rudolphi, 1819), Allocreadium isoporum (Looss, 1894), Ichthyocotylurus platycephalus (Сrерlin, 1852). The ciliates of Trichodina nigra (Lom, 1960) were noted on the gills and fins of all the examined fish, the extensiveness of infection in the group of juveniles exceeded that of the groups of females and males. Specimens of Myxobolus rotundus (Nemeczek, 1911) were found on the gills and in the kidneys, and M. parviformis only on the gills of the fish. The level of infection in males was three times the EI in females and juvenile fish. The infestation on the fins by the metacercaria of Rhipidocotyle campanula (Dujardin, 1845) in male bream was more than 6 times higher than infection in females and juveniles. An increase in the extensiveness of infection in males by the nematode Philometra ovata (Zeder, 1803) was also noted in comparison with groups of females and juvenile fish.

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