Authors
B Brewster2; J C Denholm-Price2; S P Lawton2; C Williams1; R S kirk2; 1 Environment Agency; 2 Kingston University Discussion
Fish parasite checklists frm a valuable source of information for research and the monitoring of invasive and/or pathogenic species, However, published checklists cannot be updated to incorporate changes in distribution, parasite-host relationships and taxonomic revisions. A web-based database, Aquatic Parasite Information (API) was designed at Kingston University, which allows internet users to register and search information on parasites of freshwater fish in the UK. The component elements of the database store and link the nomenclature, taxonomy and author of the parasite species, fish host, locality and information source. Interrogation of the database has provided valuable information on the under-reporting of certain parasite groups, such as protists present at sub-clinical levels and Dactylogyrus species which are difficult to identify using morphological characters. The database has also provided useful nsights into the contraction and expansion of distribution ranges of native and invasive parasite species. 
