Parasite assemblages in fish hosts

Abstract

A review of various factors affecting parasite assemblages in fish hosts is presented. These factors are broadly divided into two: Biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors such as host age and size, host size and parasites size, host specificity, host diet and host sex and their influence on the abundance and distribution of parasites are considered and highlighted. Equally, seasonality and other environmental factors that may facilitate the establishment and proliferations of parasites in host populations are also highlighted. Keywords: