Flounder Parasites as Biological Tags

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Abstract
The use of fish‐parasites as biological tags may become an efficient method of tracing the origin of some migratory fish. The helminth parasites of flounders Platichthys flesus (L.) from 2 estuaries and from the sea within a 40 mile range were recorded, and an attempt was made to explain the level of infestation of each species of parasite in the 3 localities in relation to their life‐history and the physical nature of the environment. The flounders from the 3 localities were shown to have dissimilar parasite‐faunas, and, therefore, it was possible to characterize the parasite‐fauna for each of the 3 groups of flounders. Individual fish from each locality could be recognized by its parasite‐fauna and especially by the level of certain indicator‐parasites. Similarly, “foreign” flounders moving into a flounder population could be picked out by the markedly different composition of their parasite‐fauna. Podocotyle sp. and Zoogonoides viviparus were useful indicator‐parasites in this instance.