Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Acta Parasitologica https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-020-00178-2 ORIGINAL PAPER Parasite Communities of Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis (Trewavas, 1983) in Relation to Selected Water Quality Parameters in the Springs of Lorwai Swamp and Lake Baringo, Kenya Stephanie Wangare Kamau Adamba 1  · Elick Onyango Otachi 1  · Geofrey Odhiambo Ong’ondo 1 Received: 18 July 2019 / Accepted: 5 February 2020 © Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences 2020 Abstract Purpose Parasite infections may lead to mortalities in fsh; therefore, destabilizing the biodiversity and ecosystem func- tions. Swamps such as the Lorwai Swamp are important water sources, and information on the parasite species infecting Oreochromis nilotocus baringoensis in the hot springs of Lorwai Swamp which have a distinct genetic makeup from their counterparts in Lake Baringo is lacking. The purpose of this study was to provide a knowledge base on the parasite species infecting O. niloticus baringoensis in these springs, facilitate their comparison with those in Lake Baringo and determine their relationship with selected water quality parameters. Methods 347 fsh were collected and standard parasitological procedures were used to examine the presence of parasites. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ and water samples were collected for chlorophyll-a determination and nutrient analyses in the laboratory using standard methods. Relationship between parasitic infections and selected water quality parameters was determined by PCA using SPSS version 22. Results Two parasite species were common in all sites: Cichlidogyrus sclerosus and Clinostomum sp. Some parasites cor- related positively with some parameters; Amirthalingamia macracantha and Contracaecum sp. with nitrogen compounds. Others like Clinostomum sp. and Tylodelphys sp. correlated negatively with dissolved oxygen. Conclusion Results from this study showed that there were both positive and negative relationships between some water quality parameters and the prevalence of recovered parasites. O. niloticus baringoensis from Lake Baringo also recorded high parasite prevalence and this calls for sensitization of the public on the risks that may arise from the consumption of undercooked infected fsh. Keywords Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis · Parasite communities · Water quality · Hot springs · Lorwai Swamp · Lake Baringo Introduction Fisheries play an important role in the Kenyan national economy contributing 0.8% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country [1]. Lake Baringo fsheries consist of seven fsh species: Barbus intermedius australis (Banister 1973), Barbus lineomaculatus (Boulenger 1903), Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822), Labeo cylindricus (Peters 1852), Protopterus aethiopicus (Heckel 1851) and the endemic Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis [ 2–4]. The endemic O. niloticus baringoensis once dominated the lake’s fshery, but presently P. aethiopicus introduced in 1975 dominates [5]. During a genetic survey of the vari- ous species of O. niloticus in Kenya by Nyingi et al. [6], a natural population of the endemic O. niloticus baringoen- sis was discovered in the hot springs fowing into Lorwai Swamp namely: Lake Bogoria Spa spring and Chelaba spring. This fsh species was found to be having a slight genetic variation from its counterpart in Lake Baringo. Fish from these hot springs serve as a source of food to the small community of the Ilchamus living around the Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-020-00178-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Stephanie Wangare Kamau Adamba wangaresteph@gmail.com 1 Biological Sciences Department, Egerton University, P. O. Box 536, Egerton, Kenya