Scientific publications

This is the first study of parasites of the Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) in the northern part of its distribution area (Karelia, Northwestern Russia). We performed a total parasitological survey of helminths of 22 coot specimens from an ecologically unique territory of Wetlands of the Olonets plain (Lake Ladoga coast) at the White Sea-Baltic branch of the East Atlantic Flyway. We recorded 11 helminth species, including four species of cestodes (Diorchis brevis, D. inflata, D. ransomi and D. stefanskii) and four species of trematodes (Leyogonimus polyoon, Notocotylus pacifera, Prosthogonimus ovatus and Psilotrema spiculigerum). Cestodes and trematodes were the most common parasites in the coot population, infecting 95% and 86% of the hosts, respectively. Two acanthocephalans, Filicollis anatis and Polymorphus minutus, and a single specimen of the nematode Quasiamidostomum fulicae at the early fifth-stage of development were also found. All these parasites are known to be common in various water birds, including coots, in the Holarctic and the Neotropical regions. Additionally, the data on sex, age and diet of the coots were obtained. A more diverse parasitic fauna was found in younger coots as compared with adult birds. Our data provides the basis for further studies of host-parasite interactions of the coots and other water birds near Lake Ladoga.