Influence of water quality on the outbreak of proliferative kidney disease – field studies and exposure experiments

Abstract

This paper presents data from field studies and exposure experiments and the possible association of limno‐ and physicochemical parameters with outbreaks of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) in rainbow and brown trout. The investigations were carried out at Singold Brook in southern Germany. Exposure experiments and sampling of wild fish were performed in Singold at least twice a year in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2000. Both wild fish collected from the specific sites and experimentally exposed rainbow trout were investigated histologically for the occurrence of PKD. At the time of sampling, various water parameters at the respective river sites were measured. The results indicate strongly the existence of a correlation between organic pollution of water, the presence of Bryozoa and the outbreak of PKD.