Syrota Y. Helminths communities of waterfowl from the Ukrainian mixed forest zone

The dissertation is devoted to the study of waterfowl helminths in Ukrainian mixed forest zone. The first attempt is made to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the fauna of helminth in the mixed forest zone. For the first time in Ukraine, the assessment and comparison of the helminth communities of waterfowl are carried out using a wide range of statistical methods. It is examined 189 specimens of waterfowl, which are belonged to 31 species. In total, 99 species of helminths are found. It is found 44 cestode species, 38 trematode species, 15 nematode species, and two acanthocephalan species. For the first time in Ukrainian mixed forest zone, 40 helminths species are found. There are five of them new for the territory of Ukraine. It is found that small samples (n <30) of birds are sufficient to detect the essential qualitative features of their helminth fauna. This conclusion is obtained on the basis of analysis of the estimators of species richness for our samples.