Loading...
Studies on oyster scavengers and their relation to the fungus Dermocystidium marinum
Hoese, Hinton Dickson
Hoese, Hinton Dickson
Abstract
Dermocystidium marinum, a parasitic fungus of oysters, was demonstrated from the stomach of the snail, Urosalpinx cinerea, from the stomach, intestine, and body of three fishes, Gobiosoma bosci, Chasmodes bosquianus, and Opsanus tau, and from the body, especially setae, of two crabs, Neopanope texana and Rhithropanopeus harrisii. All animals containing D. marinum had scavenged oysters infected by the fungus. A few oysters became lightly infected when kept in aquaria with fishes that ·had been fed infected oyster tissue. In one tidal inlet of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Eurypanopeus depressus was the most abundant scavenger, followed by Nassarius vibex, Gobiosoma bosci, and Panopeus herbstii. Killed oysters on this reef were consumed by scavengers in less tiian one day in temperatures over 24 C. At temperatures above 18 C, dead oyster tissue never remained long enough to decay. Theoretical methods of transmission of D. marinum by scavengers are discussed. It is concluded that nearly aIl dying oysters are consumed by animals during periods of normal mortality, so their parasites must pass through the digestive systems of scavengers.
Description
Date
1964
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Collections
Download Dataset
Files
Loading...
162_HOESE1964.pdf
Adobe PDF, 782.96 KB
Rights Holder
Usage License
Embargo
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
ESL Publications
Biological Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles
Citation
Advisor
Department
Virginia Institute of Marine Science