Ecological and faunistic analyses of helminths of birds of order Passeriformes of the Samarskaya Luka

The ecological analysis of helminths fauna of birds of 13 families of order Passeriformes was carried out. 34 species of parasites were registered in 33 species of birds: Trematoda - 14, Cestoda - 12, Nematoda - 7, Acanthocephala - 1. It is established that most diverse helminth fauna of birds of the Turdidae and Motacillidae by Shannon diversity index. Comparison of the helminthofauna similarity of different families of Passeriformes by the Jaccard index showed the overall low similarity of the species composition of parasites. The most similar helminths fauna of birds of the families Motacillidae and Muscicapidae. Quantitatively, high similarity (by the Sørensen coefficient ) observed for the helminths of birds of the families Sturnidae and Motacillidae. Analysis of the helminths fauna of different families of birds by infection coefficient showed that the highest infestation was observed in birds of the families Turdidae and Laniidae. The infection coefficient of birds of families Paridae, Motacillidae, Turdidae and Fringillidae twice lower, despite the fact that birds of these families have more species of helminths. Nematode Dispharynx nasuta have a widest host range in the Samarskaya Luka - birds of 7 families. Trematodes Plagiorchis maculosus and Urogonimus macrostomus parasitize each in birds of six families of Passeriformes. While 32 out of 34 parasites found in passerine birds, have a complex life cycle with change of hosts, differences on the quantity of species and in the helminths fauna structure in birds of different families of the order Passeriformes determined the food preferences of the birds.