The parasite community structure of stocked and wild brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

Abstract

The present study examined the parasite component and infracommunities of wild and stocked brown trout from an experimental fishery, Lough Feeagh and compared them to the parasite component and infracommunities of wild brown trout from an unmanaged wild trout fishery, Clogher Lake. This study also examined the process of establishment and development of the parasite communities in stocked brown trout, from the point of their first entry into Lough Feeagh, to the point where they contained mature parasite communities. To date, a large amount of the parasite community ecology literature pertaining to fish has focused on eels, and brown trout despite their status as dominant salmonid species in Europe have received comparatively little attention, also no studies have considered the parasite communities of wild and stocked brown trout.