Publication details
Dactylogyrus carpathicus and D. malleus (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasite on gills of barbels (Barbus barbus): infection dynamics and distribution within the population of fish host
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2000 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Folia Parasitologica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | monogenea; gill parasites; infection dynamics; fish host age; frequency distribution |
| Description | During the investigations of metazoan parasites of barbels (Barbus barbus L.) originating from the River Danube between Austrian villages Klosterneuburg and Mitterhaufen the seasonal aspects of occurrence and distribution of two monogenean gill parasites - Dactylogyrus carpathicus and D. malleus were investigated. Comparing the Dactylogyrus species, both prevalence and intensity of infection were apparently higher in D. carpathicus. There was no correlation between both species in seasonal fluctuations of prevalence while the seasonal changes in the intensity of infection correlated significantly between studied species, fluctuations of D. malleus being quantitatively higher. Classification of fish according to their size provided an effective basis for comparison of epidemiological field data. Levels of prevalence were not dependent on fish size and the prevalence appeared to be higher for D. carpathicus within all categories of fish size. On the contrary, difference in mean intensity of infection strongly depended on fish size. Significant increase in mean intensity of D. malleus appeared to be associated with higher age categories (8 -14 years) and relatively young host fish (age < 3 years) could be characterized by significantly decreased mean intensity of D. carpathicus. Prevalence of D. carpathicus was increased in males while no significant difference between sexes in the intensity of infection was observed in this species. On the other hand, D. malleus reached the same prevalence in both sexes while significantly higher intensity of infection was detected in the case of males. D. carpathicus did not show overdispersion pattern of frequency distribution which was determined as random. The frequency distribution of D. malleus was aggregated and showed typical overdispersion pattern. The biological significance of these observations is discussed. |
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