Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVI, Issue 2
Written by Radoslava ZAHARIEVA
In the autumn of 2022, 37 specimens of Orpheus dace (Squalius orpheus Kottelat & Economidis, 2006) were subjected to helminthological examination. The fish were caught from the lower section of the Chepelarska River (in the area of Katunitsa village). Three endohelminth species were isolated - Acanthocephalus tenuirostris (Achmerov & Dombrovskaja-Achmerova, 1941) Yamaguti, 1963 (class Trematoda), Contracaecum sp., Rhabdochona denudata (Dujardin, 1845) Railliet, 1916 (class Nematoda). The component community and infracommunity of Orpheus dace were reviewed. One core species (Contracaecum sp.; P% = 32.43) was found in the component community of Sq. orpheus. Brillouin’s diversity index (HB), Pielou’s evenness index (E), and Simpson’s dominance index (C) were calculated. The research aims to provide data on the helminths and helminth communities of Orpheus dace from the freshwater ecosystem of the Chepelarska River. The studied biotope (Katunitsa) is a new habitat for the found helminth species of Orpheus dace.
[Read full article] [Citation]