PARASITE FAUNA OF THE COMMON CARP (CYPRINUS CARPIO LINNAEUS, 1758) JUVENILES IN THE GROWING PONDS OF THE AZOV AND BLACK SEA FISHERY BASIN
Fish farms located in the Azov and Black Sea Basin contribute greatly to the development of the fisheries and aquaculture in the Russian Federation. Here, the main cultivation targets are carp species, especially common carp ( Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758). This work is aimed at the updating of the data on the current composition of the parasite fauna of the common carp from the rearing ponds of the Azov and Black Sea Fishery Basin. At the early stages of post-embryonic development, carp juveniles are exposed to parasite infestation both with a direct life cycle (before their transition to exogenous feeding) and with a complex life cycle (upon feeding on zooplankton organisms and benthos). At the investigated fish farms, the range of parasites in the carp juveniles covered 16 species from 5 classes: Peritricha ( Trichodina sp. Ehrenberg, 1830), Monogenea ( Dactylogyrus extensus Mueller et Van Cleave, 1932, Dactylogyrus sp. Mueller et Van Cleave, 1932, Gyrodactylus sp. Mueller et Van Cleave, 1932), Trematoda ( Diplostomum sp. met. Nordmann, 1832, Posthodiplostomum cuticola met. Nordmann, 1832, Tylodelphys clavata met. Nordmann, 1832), Nematoda ( Nematoda sp. l. Rudolphi, 1808, Spiroxys contortus l. Rudolphi, 1819), Cestoda ( Bothriocephalus acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934 , B. opsariichthydis Yamaguti, 1934 , Khawia sinensis Hsü, 1935 , Neogryporhynchus cheilancristrotus Wedl, 1855 , Paradilepis scolecina Rudolphi, 1819) and Crustacea ( Lernaea elegans Leigh-Sharpe, 1925 , Ergasilus sieboldi Nordmann, 1832). A considerable share (31.25 %) of the total number of parasites detected was comprised of the representatives of Cestoda class, found in four farms out of five investigated. Infestation rates for most parasite species were low, except for the Asian tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi .