MONITORING OF HELMINTHS OF THE ALPINE HARE IN THE KIROV REGION

Abstract

The article considers the transformation of the helminth fauna in the alpine hare over the 40s of the last century to the present day. The method of complete and partial helminthological dissections was used to study helminths in 55 alpine hares. For the entire period of research, 11 species of parasitic worms were recorded in the alpine hare in the Kirov Region. We found 6 helminth species, namely, 2 cestode species, Taenia macrocystis and Mozgovoyia pectinata, and 4 nematode species, Protostrongylus terminalis, P. kamenskyi, Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, and Graphidium strigosum. At the moment, there are no 5 helminth species in the alpine hare. According to the survey data and our research, Taenia pisiformis (larvae) has not been recorded in the alpine hare since the 70s of the last century; the definitive host, the lynx, does not have it. This cestode was supplanted by Taenia macrocystis. Taenia pisiformis (larvae) occurs only in synanthropic foci in rabbits and dogs. We recorded the cestode Multiceps serialis (larvae) neither in hares, nor in the final hosts, predatory mammals. We did not detect the trematode Fasciola hepatica. Our studies have shown that helminths of the alpine hare in the Kirov Region remain incompletely studied due to the transformed biocenoses; new species are introduced and the previously identified species disappear.