The role of environmental temperature in immunocompetence and disease susceptibility in bivalves ...

• Main Author: Mason, George
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Plymouth 2021
• Subjects: Mass mortalities; Crassostrea gigas; immunology; Nocardia crassostreae; pathogen; energetics; ResM
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24382/dspace/285; https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/18091

Disease outbreaks and mass mortality events affecting marine species and ecosystems during periods of high temperature have increased in frequency and intensity over the past several decades. Accordingly, understanding the causes of such thermally-induced outbreaks is increasingly important, particularly in the context of global climate change and predictions of increased pathogen prevalence and disease incidence. Whilst our understanding of immune functions and their adequate energetic provisioning for disease resistance is well developed, little is known on how temperature affects immunological and energetic status in bivalves. Furthermore, even less is known on the potential combined effects between thermal and pathogenic stressors that may further alter host-pathogen dynamics. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the individual effects of thermal stress as well as its combined effects with pathogenic challenge on the immunological and energetic condition of bivalves. A rise in ...