Notable Oyster Diseases / 28
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Notable Oyster Disco,se,s/ 19 res. E uropean flat oysterblood cells, highly magnified, The cell in the center of the photograph fected with 8 onamia, the smaller roUndspheres within the blood cell. From Elston et al. ,::.-'.,:='W%! Q+,'k 'i'': OTl ac oInmercial seal e, test batches should be introduced and examined over a two-year od Th us, the total er adication period will take at least five years, onomic or othe r practical considerations prevent the eradication approach, some e taken to redu ce the effects of the disease. It is known that mortalities due to @m1as1s are reduced in off-bottom culture methods. uCing the denS1'ty of oystersis also believedto reducethe transmission of the is the use of su btidal rather than intertidal growing areas. In addition, it ap- %hat some stocks of flat oysters may acquire resistance to the disease. These popula- of oysters still carry the infectious parasite and some individual oysters succumb to , but many app ear to tolerate and grow well in spite of the infection. cted oyster populations should not be used as brood stock for seed to be planted 'j "",",'':%sease-free areas. Th ere is no reason, however, to avoid the introduction of infected 48x"seed into areas kno wn to be infected and in which eradication is not possible. i:;!'.;;::i;: <kx' 20 / MOLLUSC DISEASES / Elston References Balouet, G., J, Poder,and A. Cahour, 1983. Haemocyticparasitosis: Morphologyand pathology of lesions in the French flat oyster, Ostreaedulis L Aquaculture 34:1-14. Bucke, D., and S. Feist. 1985, Bonamiasisin the flat oyster, Ostreaedulis, with comments on histological techniques.In Fish and Shellfish Pathology,ed. A. E. Ellis AcademicPress, London!, pp. 387-392. Comps,M., G. Tige, H. Grizel, and C. Vago. 1980. Etude ultrastructural d'un prostiste parasite de I'Huitre Ostreaedulis L. ComptesRendus Academic des SciencesParis 290, Shirie D: 383-384. Elston, R. A,, C. A. Farley, and M. L. Kent. 1986. Occurrenceand significanceof bonamia- sis in Europeanflat oysters Ostreaedulis in North America. Diseasesof Aquatic Organisms 2:49-54. Elston, R. A., M. L, Kent, and M. T. Wilkinson. 1987. Resistance of Ostrea edulis to Bonamia ostreae infection. Aquaculture 64:237-242. Holsinger,L. M. 1988.Bonamia ostreae: the protozoanparasite in Washingtonstocks of Ostreaedulis and the influence of temperature on diseasedevelopment. Master's thesis, University of Washington, Seattle. Katkansky,S. C., and R. W. Warner. 1974.Pacific oyster disease and mortality studiesin California. Marine ResourcesTechnical Report No. 25, California Department of Fish and Game, Long Beach, 51 pp. Katkansky, S. C., W. A. Dahlstrom, and R. W. Warner, 1969. Observations on survival and growth of the European flat oyster, Ostreaedulis, in California. California Fish and Game 55:69-74. Pichot, Y., M. Comps, G, Tigk, H. Grizel, and M.-A. Rabouin. 1980. Recherches sur Bonamia ostreae gen n., sp. n., parasite nouveau de]'huitre plate Ostrea edulis L. Revue des Travaux de l'lnstitut des Peches Mari times 43:131-140. Poder,M., A. Cahour,and G, Balouet. 1982. Hemocyticparasitosis in Europeanoyster Ostreaedulis L.: pathologyand contamination. In InvertebratePathology and Microbial Control,ed. C, C, Payneand H, D. Burges Societyfor InvertebratePathology, Brighton, U.K!, pp. 254-257. Van Banning, P. 1982. Someaspects of the occurrence,importance and control of the oysterpathogen Bonamia ostreae in Dutch oysterculture. In InvertebratePathology and MicrobialControl, ed. C, C. Payneand H. D. Burges Society for InvertebratePathology, Brighton, U.K!, pp, 261-265. ¹table Oyster Diseases / 21 VanBanning, P. 1985. Control ofBonamia in Dutch oyster culture. In Fishand Shellfish Pathology,ed. A. E. Ellis AcademicPress, London!, pp. 393-396. Marteiliasis of the European Flat Oyster Ostrea edulis! Marteiliasis sometimes called Aber disease! is causedby a parasite,Marteilia refringens,that infects the connective anddigestive tissues ofthe oyster. Spores the maturestage of the parasite! are formed inthe epithelium ofthe digestive tubules. The diseaseisresponsible forflat oyster mortalities that began in 1967along certain regions of Atlantic France and Spain. A relatedparasite of the Australian rock oyster, Saccostrea commereiali s,is Marteilia sydneyi.This parasite has caused heavy mortalities ofthe rock oyster in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. GeographicRange and Species Infected Marteiliasisoccurs only on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Serious disease resulting fromthe parasite infection, first reported from Aber Wrach in Brittanyin 1967,occurs in otherareas of France and in Spainas well. Marteilia parasites have been observed in Dutchflat oystersbut withoutsignificant disease or mortality. Thedisease occurs only in Ostreaedulis, but the parasite has been found, according toa singlereport from France, in a fewspecimens ofthe Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Nosignificant detriment to healthwas reported in thePacific oyster as a resultof the infection,but the identity of the parasites observed needs to be confirmed asMarteilia refringensbefore accepting this asa definitiveobservation. MortalityRate, Environmental Factors, and Seasonality Mortalityrates of 90% annually were reported in thefirst epizooticsofdisease in France.When disease-free spat or two-and three-year-old oysters were planted in infected areasin March,they became infected between the first ofMay and the end of August. Severemortalities occurred before the end of the first winter,but the parasite could not be foundin the survivingoysters. The fact that the parasiteoccurs in oystersin someareas withoutcausing disease suggests that environmental factors or oysterstock differences are importantin determiningwhether or not the disease becomes a significant problem. In addition,mortality seems to berelated to theformation of the spore stages known assporulation! ofthe parasite within the oyster tissues. The sporulation process may result in the release of toxic substances that affect the oyster. Diagnosis Heavilyinfected oysters may have normally dark colored digestive glands and abundantglycogen stored in theconnective tissues. In somecases, however, in diseased Notable Oyster Diseases / 28 Ostreaedulis, in severalEuropean countries, but it hasnot been identified definitely as the same disease as aNicts the Portuguese oyster. Mortality Rate, EnvironmentalFactors, and. Seasonality Becauseof the devastatingeffect of gill disease,the Portugueseoyster is no longer cultured in the Ile de Oleron, a major production area for oysters in France. That region now cultures the Pacific oyster, Crassostreagigas. WhenPortuguese oysters were imported to GreatBritain, it wasreported that within threeweeks the percentage of oystersshowing the "active"disease, in whichthe gills eroded andwere found to containdead tissue, increased from 2%to 60%. This activestage of the diseasewas found primarily in spring and summer. Diagnosis A preliminarydiagnosis can be made on the basis of visible signs. The disease first appearsas yellow spots on the gills. Asthese spots enlarge, the centers become brown and necrotic,resulting in a perforationof the gill, or a V-shapedindentation if thelesion occurs at theedge of thegill. Yellowor greenpustules may appear on the adductormuscle or mantle;on the mantlethey may develop into perforations.These perforations or indenta- tionsof the gill maybe found in recoveringoysters, but thelesions lack the decayingyellow andbrown tissue typical of the activestage of the disease. Diagnosiscan be confirmed by a shellfishpathologist. However, as noted above, the exactcause of the diseasehas not beendetermined, although the gills of someoysters with lesions contain a virus. Prevention and Management Little is knownabout the preventionand managementof the disease.However, since there is someevidence that a virus or other infectious agent causesthe disease,it is not advisableto moveoyster stocks known to havehad the disease to areaswhere the disease has not been reported. References Alderman,D. J., andP. Gras. 1969."Gill Disease"of Portugueseoysters. Nature 224:616- 617. Comps,M. 1969.Observations relatives a I'affectionbranchiale des huitres portugaises Crassostreaangulata Lmk.!. Revuedes Travaux de l'Institut desPeches Maritimes 33!:151-160. Comps,M. 1980.Mise en evidence par fluorescence duvirus de la inaladiedes branchies de 1'huitreportugaise Crassostrea angulata Lmk. Scienceet Peches, Bulletin Institut Peches Maritimes 301:17-18. Coinps,M., J. R.Bonami, and C. Vago. 1976. Pathologic des invert6brbs: une virose de 1'huitreportugaise Crassostrea angulata Lmk.!. ComptesRendus Acaddrnie des Sciences Paris 282, Shirie D 2!:1991-1993. 24 / MOLLUSC DISEASES / Elston Franc,A., M. Arvy, andP. P. Gras. 1969.Biologic: Sur Thanatostreapolymorpha n.g., n.sp.,agent de destructiondes branchies et despalpes de l'Huitre portugaise. Comptes RendusAcaddmie des SciencesParis 268, Serie D:3189-3190. Marteil,L. 1969.La maladiedes branchies des huitres portugaises des cotes franqaises de I'atlantique. Revuedes Travaux de l'Insti tut desPeches Maritimes 33!;145-150. Hexamitiasis of Ostrea and Crassostrea Oysters Hexamitiasis is causedby a parasite known as Hexamita nelsoni. The diseaseis also knownas "pit disease,"a namederived from the beliefthat it hasbeen responsible for fiat oystermortalites in recirculatingwater basins, or pits, in Holland.The parasite is consid- eredto be cosmapolitan,that is, to occurcamxnanly thraughout the world under suitable conditions. Theparasite is oftenfound in the bloodstream and within