S. Molloy et al., METAZOAN PARASITE COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN BROWN TROUT FROM 2 LAKES IN WESTERN IRELAND, Journal of Helminthology, 69(3), 1995, pp. 237-242
A total of 549 brown trout were caught from two lakes, Lough Feeagh an
d Bunaveela Lake, in the Burrishoole system, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Seven
species of metazoan parasite were detected but only four species occur
red in greater than or equal to 10% of the sample. The parasite commun
ity of the trout was dominated by a single species, Pomphorhynchus lae
vis, with a prevalence of 58%. Only one allogenic helminth species was
recorded from the trout, Diphyllobothrium ditremum, with the communit
y mainly comprising autogenic species. Few differences were found betw
een the two lakes, although the larger lake, Lough Feeagh, did contain
some trout which harboured more parasite species and had, on average,
fish with higher numbers of individual parasites. Measures of species
richness and diversity were very low, indicating an impoverished helm
inth community with little potential for interspecific interactions. H
ost age was found to significantly influence these indices of infracom
munity structure.