THE INDICATOR OF ABUNDANCE (N INDIVIDUALS/FISH) AND THE SPECIES DIVERSITY INDEX (D) FOR PARASITIC FAUNA IN SOME FISHES OF OHRID LAKE

In the period from 2015 to 2017 in three areas of Ohrid Lake (west and south shore or the Albanian part of the lake) parasites were analyzed for several species of fish that populate this basin. The sampled fish were bleak (A.scoranza), chub (S.cephalus), common roach (R.rutilus), Ohrid gudgeon (G.ohridanus), Albanian roach (P.pictum), Western Balcan barbell (B.rebeli), European eel (A.anguilla), crucian carp (C.carassius), belvica (A.ohridana), common carp (C.carpio) and Ohrid brown trout (S.letnica). Two population parameters were evaluated for parasites; the indicator of abundance (n individuals/fish) and the species diversity index (D). The highest average value for abundance was calculated for Gyrodactylis sp (Monogenea) (10.8 +/- 7.339 individuals/fish). We found this helminth as an ectoparasite in Ohrid brown trout. We calculated the smallest abundance for Pomphorhynchus laevis (Acanthocephala) (0.41 +/- 0.247 individuals / fish). We found this endoparasite in Western Balcan barbell and Ohrid brown trout. According to the seasons, the average values for the species diversity index (D) of the parasitofauna (parasitic fauna) were: Spring: D = 0.95 +/- 0.021; Summer D = 0.89 +/- 0.029 and Autumn: D = 0.86 +/- 0.007. The D values we calculated for the three seasons were generally high, representing parasitic communities with high diversity.