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Article: Parasitic and symbiotic fauna in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected from the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary in Florida.
- Article from:
- Journal of Shellfish Research
- Article date:
- December 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 National Shellfisheries Association, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT Studies of oysters, Crassostrea virginica, collected from 10 sites in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, Florida, revealed a varied parasite and symbiotic faunae that have never been reported in this area. Organisms observed included ovacystis virus infecting gametes at four sites (prevalence
<1%). The gregarine protozoan Nematopsis was found at all 10 sites (prevalence 24% to 90%) and oysters at some sites had concurrent infections of Nematopsis prytherchi and Nematopsis ostrearum in connective tissue near the stomach, mantle, and gills. Light to moderate infestations of hydrozoan polyps of a species in the genus Eutima were observed in the gills of oysters at all sites (prevalence 1% to 22%). Helminths included an unidentified turbellarian (prevalence 1% to 4%) observed at three sites and the digenetic trematodes Echinostoma sp., Proctoeces maculatus and Bucephalus sp. in oysters at five (prevalence 1% to 93%), three (prevalence>1%), and six (prevalence 1% to 3%) sites respectively. The first two trematodes were found infesting the gonoducts of their hosts while sporocysts of Bucephalus sp. infected connective tissues and gonads. Metacestodes of a species in the genus Tylocephalum were found in vesicular connective tissues near the gut, mantle, and in the gills of animals at all sites (prevalence ...