ABSTRACT

This study, carried out between September 1996 - August 1998, aimed at determining the ectoparasites and endoparasites of carps (Cyprinus carpio L., 1758) inhabiting the Karacaören I Dam Lake. A total of 202 specimens were caught and investigated parasitologically. As a result of the investigation, the ectoparasites, Argulus foliaceus and Dactylogyrus minutus, and the endoparasites, Caryophyllaeus laticeps, Ligula intestinalis and Bothriocephalus acheilognathi, were found in the carps. Among these, Ligula intestinalis has been recorded for the first time in carps in Turkey. The highest seasonal infection in the carp specimens investigated was found to be 94.8% during the summer of 1997. The rates of infection were 59.6% in male carps and 63.8% in female. Investigations on the specimens caught during the same month of the same age and gender showed that infected carps were 4.4.0% shorter and 15.5% lighter than non-infected carps.

Keywords: Karacaören I Dam Lake, carp, parasites, seasonal distribution