Helminths are of great interest to the ecologists because of their ordered life cycle. They are also considered as one of the important sensitive parasites to any changes in the water quality. Helminth parasites of exotic and indigenous fish were examined with the aim to evaluate their possible use as biological tags. This study quantified the seasonal prevalence and intensity of the helminth parasites in Shallabugh Wetland. Fish hosts studied includes two native fish of genusSchizothorax and two exotic fish of genus-Cyprinus. 486 Fish specimens were examined out of which 197 were infected showing the overall prevalence of 40.53%. Our results show highest prevalence of helminth parasites in all the hosts examined viz., S. niger =59.25%, S. labiatus = 55.55%, C. c. communis = 61.11% and C. c. specularis = 55.55%, during summer months than spring and autumn. Positive relation between the infection indicies of Helminth parasites and temperature suggests that helminth parasites can be used as stress indicators. It is further suggested that helminth parasites should be integrated with biomonitoring programmes, as they can provide supplementary information on pollution.
