Toxicity testing of whole sediments was conducted as part of the Bremerhaven Workshop designed to test various methods (chemical and biological) for assessing the status of North Sea waters, sediments and biota. Six investigators from 4 countries were involved; laboratory testing was conducted after transporting field-collected sediments distances varying from tens of miles to thousands of mile...

To determine if a storm event (i.e., high winds, large volumes of precipitation) could alter concentrations of Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus in aquacultured oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and associated surface water and sediment, this study followed a sampling timeline before and after Hurricane Irene impacted the Chesapeake Bay estuary in late August 2011. Aquacultured oysters we...

Restoration of the oyster Crassostrea virginica population in Chesapeake Bay is often advocated as an easy solution for controlling phytoplankton blooms. Even at their pre-colonial densities, oysters are unlikely to have controlled blooms, despite the fact that sediment cores suggest that pre-colonial spring blooms were smaller than at present. Lack of access to all bay water and low springtime...

BACKGROUND: Oysters are filter-feeding bivalve molluscs that form cohesive reefs in estuarine and near-coastal waters. In addition to their economic value, oysters can exert a powerful influence on water quality, phytoplankton productivity, and nutrient cycling (Dame 1996; Ulanowicz and Tuttle 1992); they also affect current patterns, flow, and sedimentation rates (Lenihan 1999). Oyster reefs o...

INTRODUCTION This research aimed to identify and quantify potentially pathogenic Vibrio from different cultivations of bivalve shellfish in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and water regions in the South Bay, as well as correlate the incidence of these microorganisms with the physicochemical parameters of marine waters. METHODS Between October 2008 and March 2009, 60 oyster and seawater s...

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) gene models have been found in the sequenced genomes of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Caenorhabditis elegans. However, there have been no published reports on the empirical cloning and characterization of any interleukin cDNAs in invertebrates. From a Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) hemocyte cDNA library, two clones were obtained that encoded a protein similar to v...

In Sri Lanka, only a few mushroom species are popular among growers and among these, Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sp.) are cultivated widely at present. There is a growing demand for new and improved mushroom strains with better characters including yield. The present study was conducted with the objective of improving mushroom strains using duel culture hybridization technique. Hybridization wa...

Biogenic reefs built by oysters and other suspension feeders are vital components of estuarine ecosystems. By consuming phytoplankton, suspension feeders act to suppress accumulation of organic matter in the water column. Nutrient loading increases the rate of primary production, thereby causing eutrophication. As suspension feeders consume more organic matter from increasing abundance of phyto...

A quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (QCPCR) assay was developed for the oyster parasite Perkinsus marinus. PCR primers for the rRNA gene region of P. marinus amplified DNA isolated from P. marinus but not from Perkinsus atlanticus, Crassostrea virginica, or the dinoflagellates Peridinium sp., Gymnodinium sp., or Amphidinium sp. A mutagenic primer was used to create a competitor...

Since 1972, several herpes-like virus infections have been reported among different bivalve species around the world. Most of these reports involved larvae or juveniles presenting high mortalities. Two case reports of herpes-like viruses concerned adult oysters, Crassostrea virginica in USA and Ostrea angasi in Australia. Molecular techniques including PCR and in situ hybridization (ISH) have b...