The occurrence of Ligula intestinalis (L.) observed in chub (Leuciscus cephalus L.) from Caparlipatlak Dam lake, Ivrindi-Balikesir, Turkey

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The tapeworm L. intestinalis is a cestode parasite of cyprinids and has a three-host life cycle (coracidium larva, procercoid form, plerocercoid). Caparlipatlak Dam Lake contains some fish species including carp Cyprinus carpio, chub Leuciscus cephalus and Barbus species. It has major economic importance to the area for both fisheries and drinking water. The reason to select L. cephalus for this study was due to its economic value and it being a known host of L. intestinalis. Materials and Methods: In this study, cestode parasites were collected from abdominal cavity of chub Leuciscus cephalus living in Caparlipatlak Dam Lake during a period of 12 months. Fish were sampled by gill nets of various mesh-sizes. Their size (fork length, FL in cm) and weight (W in g) were measured and weighed to the nearest to 0.1 cm and 0.1 g, respectively. Age and sex were determined by macroscopic observation of scales and gonads. The parasites were washed in cold water, fixed in 70% alcohol, stained with alum carmine, dehyhrated in ethanol and fixed in canada balsam. The identification of the parasites was performed according to Dubinina1987. Results: Of 431 fish examined, 100 were infected. Plerocercoids of Ligula intestinalis were found in 23% of the fish. Infection increased significantly with age and length of the fish. The ratio of parasite weight to fish total weight was found to be between 7.76% and 30.36%. The prevalence of fish infected with L. intestinalis was significantly highest between July and September. Conclusions: Our results show the first report of the prevalence of chub infected with cestode parasite L.intestinalis living in the Caparlipatlak Dam Lake.