Parasites and Fishes in a Deep-Sea Environment

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the animal parasites of fishes and presents a few examples of fishes and their parasites from the inshore and offshore epipelagic zone. These examples, ranging from tide pool species to cod that move from offshore shallow water to the mesopelagic zone, show that fishes in these habitats harbor many kinds of parasites, often in large numbers. In the deep marine environments, the chapter focuses on the benthopelagic and benthic habitats and on a comparison between them and the strikingly different midwater zones. The chapter provides an ecological discussion of parasite–host relationships in marine fishes. It discusses environmental factors that influence the variety of parasites and incidences of infection in deep-sea animals. It lists the characteristics of deep ocean waters––namely, (1) physical features, (2) plankton and the food supply, and (3) metabolism in the deep sea. These characteristics are the chief factors that determine the kinds, numbers, and behavior of the organisms living in these waters. Differences in parasite patterns between two groups of fishes are correlated with differences in food and migratory habits, life histories, body size, length of life, physical environmental features, and energy relationships.