Review of freshwater fish parasitism in Algeria: a synthesis of the main publications from 2013 to 2023

Freshwater fish species face a wide range of natural and anthropogenic stresses, such as parasitism, which is recognized as one of the key factors affecting the sustainability of natural communities and populations. The purpose of this study is to explore the diversity of parasites in freshwater fish in Algeria and improve our understanding regarding their distribution. To this end, five databases were searched to collect data regarding the distribution of freshwater fish parasites in Algeria during the last decade: Science Direct, Pub Med, Springer, Scopus and Google Scholar. The data obtained indicated the presence of 36 parasite species belonging to 11 classes and infecting 11 fish species; it also revealed the existence of parasite species capable of causing high mortality in fish hosts, such as Dactylogyrus and Myxobolus species. The dominant parasites of freshwater fish belong to the following classes Conoidasida, Copepoda, Secernentea, Monogenea, Maxillopoda, Cestoda, Eoacanthocephala, Oligohymenophorea, Cyrtophoria, Myxosporea and Trematoda. Due to the lack of data currently available on the bioecology and freshwater fish parasites distribution in Algeria, further studies are required.