Description

Fish are a unique group which harbour some 30,000 species of helminths that do not occur in other vertebrates. This book deals specifically with parasitic worms of fish. It covers every aspect of their biology including identification, life-cycles, hostparasite relationships and ecology. It discusses approaches to studying parasitic worm infections, preference of species for particular host species, preference for dwelling in certain organs and tissues, biogeography, seasonality of infections and how parasites have evolved in parallel with their hosts. The book concludes with discussions of fish worms causing diseases in nature and in fish-farms. This section also addresses the value of parasitic worms in extending knowledge of the environments in which fish and their parasites dwell, from the use of worms as indicators of pollution or for determining the location, migrations, and feeding behavior of fish stocks. With the growth in fish farming such parasites have considerable economic as well as scientific significance.; This volume provides an account of these helminths and reviews how studies on fish worms have increased current knowledge of worm biology in general.; The bibliography contains over 3500 references and an appendix summarizes important information on biochemistry and physiology of fish worms.