Microecology of Monogenean Gill Parasites of Tilapia Rendalli Boulenger, 1897 From Bamendjing Lake, Cameroon

Abstract

The present work aimed to study preferences for microhabitat by the monogenean gill parasites of Tilapia rendalli Boulenger, 1897. Fifty-four specimens were sampled using gill net in February 2014 at Bamendjing Lake. Each gill arch was removed and examined to both quantify the number of parasites and their distribution on the gills. This examination enabled us to find 6583 specimens of monogeneans belonging to 5 different species, Cichlidogyrus arthracanthus, C. dossoui, C. quaestio, C. tiberianus and C. tilapiae with 3708, 1708, 858, 210 and 99 individuals respectively. All species were aggregated within the host population. The spatial distribution of each parasite species was studied on different partitions of the gill arches. This study supports the hypothesis that gill site preference is a result of water flow over gills during respiration and mate finding habitat. There was no evidence of competition among the various species.