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Flounder Parasites as Biological Tags
Author(s) -
Gibson David I.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1972.tb05645.x
Subject(s) - flounder , biology , fauna , parasite hosting , platichthys , zoology , ecology , range (aeronautics) , population , helminths , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , materials science , demography , sociology , world wide web , computer science , composite material
The use of fish‐parasites as biological tags may become an efficient method of tracing the origin of some migratory fish. The helminth parasites of flounders Platichthys flesus (L.) from 2 estuaries and from the sea within a 40 mile range were recorded, and an attempt was made to explain the level of infestation of each species of parasite in the 3 localities in relation to their life‐history and the physical nature of the environment. The flounders from the 3 localities were shown to have dissimilar parasite‐faunas, and, therefore, it was possible to characterize the parasite‐fauna for each of the 3 groups of flounders. Individual fish from each locality could be recognized by its parasite‐fauna and especially by the level of certain indicator‐parasites. Similarly, “foreign” flounders moving into a flounder population could be picked out by the markedly different composition of their parasite‐fauna. Podocotyle sp. and Zoogonoides viviparus were useful indicator‐parasites in this instance.