Marine Parasitology

Marine Parasitology is an important field in aquatic science. Because of its close linkeage to other fields in marine sciences such as fisheries, mariculture, fish ecology and environmental monitoring, marine parasitology should be seen in the context of other marine science disciplines. Parasites as disease causing agents can have various effects on the fish’s health. They can infest all organs, and depending on the site and intensity of infestation, they are more or less harmful. A high number of negative consequences does not only influence the fish itself but is assumed to also have a larger impact on whole ecosystems. Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it forms a synthesis of other disciplines, and draws on techniques from fields such as cell biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, evolution and ecology. Worldwide, marine and coastal ecosystems are heavily invaded by introduced species and the potential role of parasites in the success and impact of marine invasions has been increasingly recognized. The recent theoretical developments in invasion ecology with empirical studies from marine ecosystems in order to provide a conceptual framework for studying the role of parasites and their hosts in marine invasions. This comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date work provides the definitive overview of marine parasites worldwide. It is an invaluable reference for students and researchers in parasitology and marine biology and will also be of interest to ecologists, aquaculturists and invertebrate biologists.