Population ecology of parasitic helminthes Oncodiscus yamaguti, 1934 (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidae) in greater lizardfish Saurida tumbil bloch (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) from the coast of visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal

The present study was undertaken to determine the parasitic helminthes infection prevalence and mean intensity in marine greater lizardfish Saurida tumbil Bloch (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) with special reference to hosts size, weight and marine hydrobiological parameters in the Coast of Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal. The sample water, host fish and parasites were collected from R.K. beach Visakhapatnam coast, Andhra Pradesh during January to June, 2014. The sample water processed for physicochemical attributes showed month wise and seasonal oscillations in hydrobiological parameters. During parasitological investigation intestinal tapeworms Oncodiscus sp. Yamaguti, 1934 (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidae) were recovered in variable number. The sex, size and weight biased parasitic load was well marked during the study. The peak infection prevalence 92% and mean intensity 7.0 recorded during summer showed parasitic infections were more prevalent in male compared to female fish. The study also showed that some physicochemical features of the marine body including water temperature, salinity, alkalinity and hardness played significant positive correlation with the cestodes prevalence.