Mortality and histopathology in sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) larvae exposed to pectenotoxin-2 and Dinophysis acuminata.

Toxic species of the dinoflagellate genus Dinophysis can produce diarrheic toxins including okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxins (DTXs), and the non-diarrheic pectenotoxins (PTXs). Okadaic acid and DTXs cause diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) in human consumers, and also cause cytotoxic, immunotoxic and genotoxic effects in a variety of mollusks and fishes at different life stages in vitro. The possible effects of co-produced PTXs or live cells of Dinophysis to aquatic organisms, however, are less understood.

Microplastics exacerbate virus-mediated mortality in fish.

Microplastics are a persistent and increasing environmental hazard. They have been reported to interact with a variety of biotic and abiotic environmental stressors, but the ramifications of such interactions are largely unknown. We investigated virus-induced mortalities in a commercially important salmonid following exposure to microplastics, plastic microfibers, and natural (non-plastic) microparticles.

Elevated temperature inhibits Mycobacterium shottsii infection and Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii disease in striped bass Morone saxatilis.

Mycobacteriosis occurs with high prevalence in the wild striped bass Morone saxatilis of Chesapeake Bay, USA. Etiologic agents of mycobacteriosis in this system are dominated by Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii and Mycobacterium shottsii, both members of the M. ulcerans/M.

Prevalence, intensity and pathology of the nasal parasite Nasicola hogansi in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).

Ectoparasitic flatworms of Nasicola (Monogenoidea: Capsalidae), which infect nasal epithelium of true tunas (Thunnus spp.), are not well studied, nor have their impacts on the host's olfactory organ been evaluated. Infections of Nasicola hogansi on Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, were investigated with emphasis on the relationship between infection prevalence, abundance and mean intensity with bluefin tuna size, sex, body condition and capture month, as well as histopathological effects.

Dermal mycobacteriosis and warming sea surface temperatures are associated with elevated mortality of striped bass in Chesapeake Bay.

Temperature is hypothesized to alter disease dynamics, particularly when species are living at or near their thermal limits. When disease occurs in marine systems, this can go undetected, particularly if the disease is chronic and progresses slowly. As a result, population-level impacts of diseases can be grossly underestimated.