Histological Alterations in Pacific Oysters Crassostrea gigas that Survived a Summer Mortality Event in Baja California, Mexico

Abstract A mortality episode (>90%) of triploid and diploid Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas cultured in Baja California Sur occurred during summer 2012, coinciding with a thermal anomaly, an algal bloom, and low oxygen values. To help explain the cause of the mortalities, histological analyses...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Aquatic Animal Health
Main Authors: Cáceres‐Martínez, Jorge, Vásquez‐Yeomans, Rebeca, Danigo, Philippe, Reyes‐Roel, Carlos
Other Authors: Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aah.10006
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faah.10006
https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aah.10006
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Summary:Abstract A mortality episode (>90%) of triploid and diploid Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas cultured in Baja California Sur occurred during summer 2012, coinciding with a thermal anomaly, an algal bloom, and low oxygen values. To help explain the cause of the mortalities, histological analyses and molecular tests for specific pathogens (ostreid herpesvirus 1 [Os HV ‐1] and Perkinsus marinus ) were performed on oysters surviving at the end of the episode. Triploid oysters showed a high percentage of males (43%) and hermaphrodites (30%); 93% of these oysters were in the gonadic reabsorption stage, and in some cases, hemocytes completely filled the lumen of the gonadic follicles. Oysters presented large areas with severe hemocyte infiltration that extended toward the digestive gland. Diploid oysters showed similar gonad alterations. None of samples showed histological or molecular evidence of Os HV ‐1 or P. marinus . Histological alterations can be related to physiological disorders caused by the mechanism driving summer mortality. This is the first case history of a summer mortality episode among Pacific oysters in Mexico.