Examination of eels on day 112 revealed no indication for acquired immunity resulting from the primary infection.
A suite of three digenean eel specialist species occurred in all three lagoons, of which any two members dominated each community.
Movements of eels of this nature would also explain the differences in parasite dispersion patterns evident in the same month.
The eels of each species were divided into four groups, each containing approximately 25 specimens and acclimated for two weeks prior to the experimentation.
The general trend was for increasing damage as eel size increased, thus suggesting accumulation of pathological effects.
Introduced monogeneans are pests in the eel trade.
The mean number of species per eel ranged from 0.7 to 1.7 per eel, and the maximum never exceeded three.
The cortisol levels of the control eels which were not inoculated with larvae did not show any significant change over the experimental period.
