COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT POLLUTION LEVELS AND PARASITISM ON THE HAEMATOBIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF SCHIZOTHORAX
Kamal Jaswal, Fayaz Ahmad* and Ibraq Khurshid*#
ABSTRACT
In India, fish management has occupied an important place, especially in the agricultural economy, where the value and usefulness of fish as a cheap source of protein-diet, has been greatly realized and emphasized. According to Thatcher (1981) many parasites can live in a host, sometimes causing damage, sometimes not; therefore, the changes associated with haematobiochemical parameters due to various parasites establish a data base and allow precise diagnosis, guiding the implementations of treatment or preventive measures which are indispensable in fish farming and fish industry (Roberts and Janovy, 1981). However, in India, the comparable studies on the effect of helminth parasites in relation to haematobiochemical abnormalities, especially in Kashmir so far made are only few (Satpute and Agrawal, 1974; Sinha and Sircar, 1974). All these studies indicate the macrocytic anaemia in the fishes. Keeping in view the increasing importance of fish as a cheap source of protein rich diet, helminth infections in fresh water fishes has drawn attention of the fish biologists, ichthyologists and parasitologists under fish pathology. Considering these impacts of pollution and parasitic burden on the fish health, present study on two freshwater bodies of Kashmir, one lotic (river Sindh) and one lentic (Shallabugh wetland) was undertaken for a period of 2 years, from 2011 - 2013. During this study the influence of trophic status of two different study sites Shallabugh wetland and river Sindh on the pattern of helminth infection in Schizothorax spp. and effect of the helminth burden on the haematobiochemical parameters was conducted, so that necessary steps are taken to improve the health condition of these economically important fish fauna.
Keywords: Fish, Schizothorax, Parasitism, Pollution, Shallabugh wetland, river Sindh, Haematobiochemical parameters, Kashmir.
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