Helminth communities in marine fishes

Abstract

The literature on parasites of marine fishes is voluminous, diverse, and scattered. Although a substantial portion of that literature is descriptive (either taxonomic or survey), many surveys are restricted to one taxon (or few taxa), and the parasite fauna of only a small fraction of the marine fishes can be regarded as well-known. Most fishes with well-known faunas are economically important species of north temperate seas; parasites have been studied largely to elucidate their effects on fish populations (Lester, 1984; Sindermann, 1987), their zoonotic potential (Williams and Jones, 1976; Oshima and Kliks, 1987), or (especially recently) their usefulness as biological tags (MacKenzie, 1983, 1987; Sindermann, 1983). Studies on life histories of marine parasites have progressed to the point that basic patterns of the life cycles of most major groups have been determined, but there is relatively little information on the variation in details of those patterns, and specific life cycles are known for only a minute fraction of parasitic species. Knowledge of population dynamics, and especially processes which determine those dynamics, is rudimentary.