ABSTRACT
Parasites have been known to cause major health problems in marine mammals since research scientists and veterinarians first began study of these animals. Researchers and veterinarians need to know: (1) how to remove and fix parasites for identification; (2) how to identify parasites; (3) which parasites affect the health of the animal; and (4) the best method to treat the marine mammal. This chapter will provide this information, host-parasite lists from each of the marine mammal groups, and resources to assist with identification. Because of the large number of parasites that have been reported from marine mammals, it is impossible to cover each parasite in detail here. Instead, this chapter will give new material and important examples of hostparasite associations, in addition to clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment. The majority of life-cycles of marine mammal parasites-other than
Filaroides
(
Parafilaroides
)
decorus, Otostrongylus circumlitus
, and
Uncinaria lucasi
—have not been determined experimentally; thus, they will not be discussed here. This chapter is not meant to be a complete diagnostic field manual (the reader is referred below to references for identification purposes). It will, however, serve as a pragmatic guide to parasitic diseases of marine mammals.
