| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: Diseases in wild fish populations may have multiple economic and social impacts. Epidemics of infectious diseases, which are associated with the presence of some microbe or parasite, have recently been observed in several major estuarine systems in the eastern United States. The most prevalent of these problems is ulcerative mycosis (UM), a fungal infection. The agents responsible for UM and many of these other diseases are opportunistic pathogens that are not believed to infect normal, immunocompetent individuals. While inroads have been made into determining the infectious agents associated with these diseases, we know very little of how pollution may influence their prevalence. Understanding the importance of pollution requires an awareness of all the environmental conditions that can affect the health of wild populations. In this paper, a multistep examination of the interactions between the host, pathogen(s), and environment is outlined. |
