Seagrass Wasting Disease and the Causative Agent, Labyrinthula zosterae: Detection, Quantification, and Potential Mitigation

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorSchreier, Harold J
dc.contributor.authorBergman, Chelsea Noel
dc.contributor.departmentMarine-Estuarine Environmental Sciences
dc.contributor.programMarine-Estuarine Environmental Sciences
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-31T19:59:46Z
dc.date.available2023-07-31T19:59:46Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-01
dc.description.abstractEelgrass (Zostera marina) is an ecologically important seagrass providing numerous ecosystem services to coastal habitats globally. Z. marina is currently experiencing universal decline due to multiple factors, including degrading environmental conditions and disease. One disease commonly found in Z. marina beds is seagrass wasting disease (SWD) caused by the opportunistic pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae. SWD has previously caused mass die-offs of seagrass beds. Seagrass beds are well-surveyed in the Chesapeake Bay but SWD presence and prevalence remains unknown in the region. In this present study, seagrass beds were sampled in the Chesapeake Bay for SWD presence, lesion severity, and infection intensity. SWD and L. zosterae were present at four sites with one site having significantly higher disease severity and infection intensity. An undertested disease mitigation strategy is the use of farmed and naturally occurring oysters in wild populations, near eelgrass beds. The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, has been previously found to reduce and transmit SWD in Z. marina during laboratory trials. However, the density threshold of C. gigas needed to significantly reduce SWD is still unknown. Previous lab experiments also used higher doses of L. zosterae compared to recently determined environmentally relevant levels. Thus, understanding the impact of oyster densities on SWD at previously tested pathogen concentrations and more environmentally realistic concentrations is essential for a better understanding of the dynamics between disease, host, and a nonhost receptor. A mesocosm experiment was conducted with Z. marina co-cultured with two densities of oysters and exposed to two concentrations of pathogen, measuring their effect on blade growth, lesion severity, and infection intensity. High oyster density impeded growth while Z. marina growth benefited from low oyster densities. High pathogen concentrations increased SWD severity and L. zosterae infection intensity. High oyster densities significantly reduced the likelihood of L. zosterae infection presence. Results from this experiment confirmed that bivalves can reduce SWD under environmentally realistic pathogen concentrations and paves the way for integrated disease management. Further field testing is required to validate in-situ oyster filtration as a viable method for SWD mitigation.
dc.formatapplication:pdf
dc.genrethesis
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2gror-2mib
dc.identifier.other12707
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/28932
dc.languageen
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Marine-Estuarine Environmental Sciences Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Theses and Dissertations Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Graduate School Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Student Collection
dc.rightsThis item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
dc.sourceOriginal File Name: Bergman_umbc_0434M_12707.pdf
dc.subjectEelgrass
dc.subjectOysters
dc.subjectqPCR
dc.subjectSurvey
dc.titleSeagrass Wasting Disease and the Causative Agent, Labyrinthula zosterae: Detection, Quantification, and Potential Mitigation
dc.typeText
dcterms.accessRightsDistribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
dcterms.accessRightsAccess limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Bergman_umbc_0434M_12707.pdf
Size:
9.96 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Bergman-Chelsea_982195_UMBC Publication Form_Open.pdf
Size:
299.43 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download

Collections

UMBC Theses and Dissertations
UMBC Graduate School
UMBC Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences
UMBC Student Collection