Nematodes Of Freshwater Fishes Of The Neotropical Region

This well illustrated book provides an historical and unified overview of a century and a half of research on the development, life cycles, transmission and evolution of the nematodes found in vertebrates throughout the world. This second, expanded edition includes relevant data from some 450 new references that have appeared from 1989 to 1999. The volume includes nematode parasites of humans, domestic animals and wildlife including fish. After an introductory chapter outlining general principles, the author systematically describes the biological characteristics of the 27 superfamilies of nematodes, followed by families, subfamilies, genera and species.

Fish is the principal source of protein for people in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. While most fish are caught from nature, aquaculture or fish farming is now making a significant contribution to total fish production. More intensive conditions of aquaculture often result in a higher incidence of fish diseases and disorders. As in the first edition, the focus of this second edition is on protozoan and metazoan parasites that cause disease in fish. Significant changes to this second edition include the addition of 3 new chapters and 4 of the original chapters have new authors.

This section of the Handbook of Zoology is intended as a comprehensive and exhaustive account of the biology of the taxa Gastrotricha, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Priapulida, Kinorhyncha, Loricifera, Gnathostomulida, Micrognathozoa, Rotifera, Seisonida and Acanthocephala, covering all relevant topics such as morphology, ecology, phylogeny and diversity. The series is intended to be a detailed and up-to-date account of these taxa. As was the case with the first edition, the Handbook is intended to serve as a reliable resource for decades. Many of the taxa of this volume are comparatively unknown to many biologists, despite their diversity and importance for example in meiofaunal communities (Gastrotricha, Rotifera, Gnathostomulida), their fascinating recent discoveries (Loricifera and Micrognathozoa), their importance as parasites (many nematodes, Nematomorpha, Acanthocephala) and their importance for evolutionary questions (e.g. Priapulida, Gastrotricha). The groups covered range from those poor in species (such as Micrognathozoa with 2 known species) to the species-rich and diverse Nematoda and their ca. 20.000 described species. While each taxon is covered by one chapter, nematodes are treated in several chapters dedicated to their structural, taxonomic and ecological diversity.

Diseases are a major threat to both wild and farmed fish. Pathogen-induced alterations in viability and growth of wild fish stocks can have implications on diversity and ecological status of aquatic ecosystems, as fish are main components of aquatic communities, and they can directly affect the exploitation of wild and farmed fish as a protein sour

The monograph is meant to provide basic data on fish nematodes, enabling their reliable determination in European conditions. It combines modern knowledge of the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of these parasites with keys for identification, diagnoses of higher taxa and descriptions and illustrations of all species parasitic in fishes as adults and larvae. It also gives data on their hosts, localization, distribution and in particular their life cycles and bionomy. Altogether 84 nematode species belonging to 48 genera of 17 families are dealt with in this way. The list of references includes about 570 papers. This publicaton is intended for parasitologists, veterinarians, workers i.