A comparative study of parasite communities of some endemic fish species in the Alborz Dam and the Babol River in the Southern Caspian Sea basin, Mazandaran Province

The Babol River is one of the main rivers in the Southern Caspian Sea basin in Mazandaran Province. The Alborz Dam has been built along the river to provide annual irrigation and flood protection. This study aimed to identify and describe the prevalence and parasite intensity of some endemic fish species in Babol River and Alborz Dam and to compare their parasite communities. The field investigations were carried out from June 2016 to March 2017 and approximately, 546 fish specimens, including Alburnoides tabarestanensis, Capoeta razii and Squalius turcicus, were examined. A total of 13 parasite species, including Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Trichodina gracilis, Myxobulus minutus, Dactylogyrus chalcalburni, D. vistulae, D. lenkorani, Gyrodactylus gobioninum, G. prostate, Paradiplozoon homoion, Allocreadium isoproum, Rhabdochona denudatai, Ligula intestinalis and Bothriocephalus acheilognathi, were isolated from the examined fishes. The results showed that host-parasite system in Alborz Dam is mainly influenced by the parasite’s fauna of Babol River. The only exception in this regard is the plerocercoids of L. intestinalis, one of the most common parasites in Alborz Dam and found in the abdominal cavity of all fish species. The prevalence rate and the mean intensity of parasitic infection in this reservoir are far more than those in Babol River. In addition this is the first report of Trichodina gracilis from the gills and skin of C. razii in Iran.