Performance Report for Cooperative Agreement No: na06oar4810163 for the Period from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2012 University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Sensory ecology of Black sea bass and Tautog: ecophysiological auditory and visual performance measures
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- 3. Pathogens and diseases of Blue Crabs
- LMRCSC Student(s)
- Publications
- 4. Atlantic croaker exposed to hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay: Effects on reproductive and immunological health, and temperature preferences.
2. Sensory ecology of Black sea bass and Tautog: ecophysiological auditory and visual performance measures. (Appendices IId, 2009-2010; and IIe, 2010-2011). Investigators: Dr. Andrij Z. Horodysky (Hampton University) and Dr. Andrea Johnson (UMES). NOAA Collaborator(s): Dr. Richard W. Brill (VIMS); LMRCSC Student(s): Ms. Joe’Ella Caddle (B.S., UMES), Ms. Kendyl Crawley-Crawford (B.S., HU); Elizabeth Seagroves (B.S., HU); Krysten Rybyzynske (B.S., UMES). Figure: Tautog, http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf/recreationalfishing/tautog.htm S  ensory systems of fish are relevant to their habitat use, and knowledge of response parameters can be used to quantify resiliency to anthropogenic stressors and climate change. These studies investigated the sensory abilities of black sea bass (Centropristis striata) and tautog (Tautoga onitis). Brainstem response experiments showed that black sea bass responded to auditory stimuli from 100-2,000 Hz, and did not vary with age, suggesting that they are hearing generalist fishes, whereas tautog exhibited greatest sensitivity to low frequency sounds (200-300 Hz), with poorer sensitivity than black sea bass. Juvenile black sea bass were more sensitive to dim light at night, whereas adults were ~100 times more sensitive to dim light during the day. Male sea bass exhibited comparatively stronger responses to short wavelength (blue) stimuli during daylight hours than females, suggesting that the blue coloration of nuccal crests in dominant males may play a role in agonistic male-male signaling. The eyes of tautog are comparatively more sensitive and slower than those of most shallow-dwelling coastal sciaenids with peak sensitivity circa 490 nm (blue-green) which is consistent with seasonal migration patterns from the shallow green-yellow coastal waters to the deeper blue-green waters. Results suggest that low frequency noise pollution (e.g. marine construction, wind farms) and increased turbidity (from eutrophication, runoff, or construction) will be stressful to both species, and may have potential sub-lethal effects on foraging, growth, or reproduction. Results also have implications for husbandry or aquaculture programs of the species. Ecophysiological performance measures help to define essential fish habitat, predator-prey interactions, and anthropogenic stress, and support the Essential Fish Habitat themes of the LMRCSC and NOAA-Fisheries. Data from this project will be incorporated into a comparative database of sensory function in temperate reef-associated fauna. Results have been included in lectures in Dr. Johnson’s Fish Physiology Course and Dr. Horodysky’s Ichthyology course. This project has involved undergraduates Elizabeth Seagroves (B.S., HU), Krysten Rybyzynske (B.S., UMES), Joe’Ella Caddle (BS, UMES 2010), and Ms. Kendyl Crawley-Crawford (B.S., HU), who received an Outstanding Student Presentation Award at the 2011 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
3. Pathogens and diseases of Blue Crabs This topic has been the subject of TAB-supported projects from 2006-2011 by multiple investigators: Dr. Joseph Pitula (UMES), Dr. Eric Schott and Dr. J. Sook Chung (UMCES-IMET). NOAA Collaborator(s): Dr. Frank Morado (NOAA NWFSC); Gretchen Messick (NOAA NCCOS Cooperative Oxford Lab), Ron Goldberg (NOAA NMFS Milford Lab); Other Collaborator(s): Carl Zimmermann, National Park Service; Dennis McIntosh (DSU); LMRCSC Student(s): Lara Nagle (M.S. UMES), Whitney Dyson (M.S., UMES); Ammar Hanif (M.S., UMCES-IMET), Laura Torres (summer intern). Figure: Blue crab http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/bluecrab.html H  ematodinium sp. is a dinoflagellate parasite of crustaceans that is associated with high mortality of snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio) in the Bering Sea, and blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) on the east coast. Snow crab is a federally managed species but difficult to study because of its remote location, whereas blue crab is not federally managed, but is of critical economic and societal importance along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and is an ideal model organism in which to study the biology and transmission of this pathogen. Hematodinium sp. is commonly found in dead and moribund crabs, but its source and method of transmission is essentially unknown. LMRCSC TAB funded researchers developed an improved q-PCR-based assay (ITS2) which allowed positive identification of Hematodinium in water, sediment, and potential reservoir hosts (Schott et al., Appendix IIa, 2006-2007). Assays showed that it was present in sediments from the Indian River Inlet, but not in water or potential prey items, even during an active outbreak of parasite-related mortality, and it was also present in other crabs of the same family (Portunidae) (Schott et al., Appendix IIb, 2007-2008). Several “hot-spots” were found in the Maryland coastal bays, and parasites were detected in these reservoirs about two months prior to outbreaks in crab populations (Pitula et al., Appendix IId, 2009-2010). Transmission can occur via cannibalism of infected individuals, and susceptibility is greatest during the molting and early pre-molt stages (Chung, et al., Appendix. 1d, 2009-2010). A large-scale survey for the presence of Hematodinium sp. and Rheo-Like Virus in blue crabs is now underway along a climatic and latitude gradient in collaboration with state and federal scientists from Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts (Schott et al., Appendix IIe, 2010-2011).
Although blue crabs are not federally managed, they support a $160 million fishery in the US, and fishery landing in the Northeast are expected to increase due to northern expansion of the blue crabs range, and declining lobster harvests, both of which may be associated with climate change. Impacts of climate change on fisheries, and associated socio-economic impacts to fishing sectors and communities are of great interest to NOAA, thus the Callinectes-Hematodinium nexus is an excellent model system for the study of these interactions. Long-term studies should help determine what environmental factors are most conducive to the presence of Hematodinium in specific ecosystems, and should provide insights applicable to other federally- managed species of crabs. These projects have supported graduate students Lara Nagel (M.S. 2009, UMES), Ammar Hanif (M.S. 2012, UMCES-IMET), and Whitney Dyson (M.S. 2012, UMES), and results have been published in peer-reviewed journals and included in a graduate level seminar course (“Diseases in the Chesapeake Bay”) offered by E.J. Schott, and into genetics classes taught at UMES by J. S. Pitula. Numerous other graduate, undergraduate, and high school students have benefitted from training in their laboratories. Publications: Nagle, L*., Place, A., Jagus, R., Schott, E.J., Messick, G. and Pitula, J.S. (2009). Real-time quantitative PCR-based assay for enhanced detection of Hematodinium sp. Infection and tissue Invasion in the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). Dis. Aquat. Org. 84, 79-87. Pitula JS, Dyson WD*, Bakht HB*, Njoku I*, and Chen F. (2012). Temporal distribution of genetically homogenous 'free-living' Hematodinium sp. in a Delmarva coastal ecosystem. Aquat Biosyst. 8:16; doi: 10.1186/2046-9063-8-16 4. Atlantic croaker exposed to hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay: Effects on reproductive and immunological health, and temperature preferences. (Appendix IIe, 2010-2011). Andrea K. Johnson et al. (UMES) Investigators: Dr. Andrea K. Johnson (UMES) and Dr. Andrij Z. Horodysky (HU). NOAA Collaborator(s): Dr. Richard Brill, (NMFS-NEFSC/VIMS). LMRCSC Student(s): Jamila-Dawn Payton (M.S. Student, UMES); Elizabeth Seagroves (B.S., HU); Krysten Rybyzynske (B.S., UMES). Figure: Croaker http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/atlantic_croaker A  tlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) is an economically and ecologically important species in Chesapeake Bay that was used as a model species to study the effects of hypoxia on physiology and behavior under controlled laboratory conditions, using various physiological indicators. Fish exposed to hypoxic conditions (18 – 33% saturation) tended to have reduced spleenosomatic index (SSI), elevated packed cell volume (PCV or hematocrit), and reduced hepatosomatic (HSI) and gonadosomatic (GSI) indices compared to those in normoxic conditions (73 – 84% saturation), although the differences were not statistically significant (Johnson et al., Appendix IId, 2009-2010). These imply the existence of low level responses to hypoxia that produce increases in red blood cell circulation (to increase O2 delivery), glycogen metabolism (anaerobiosis), and energy diversion from reproductive tissues. Results provide important information for determining how well fish adjust to altered ecosystems, and are applicable to other fish species and coastal ecosystems. A second study (Johnson et al., Appendix IIe, 2010-2011) using a custom behavioral preference system at the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory (the Shuttlebox) showed that temperature preferences of croaker were broad at normoxic (range 13-32oC), but decreased and narrowed as oxygen saturation decreased. Results concerning habitat use and resiliency to anthropogenic stressors and habitat degradation of a managed species are consistent with the missions of NOAA-Fisheries and complement currently funded work (NSF-CREST) that assesses croaker movement in Chesapeake Bay via telemetry. Results can help to better quantify potential impacts of habitat changes on spatial and temporal use of nursery habitats, and support an ecosystem-based approach to the management of fisheries resources. Data from this project will be included in lectures in Dr. Johnson’s Fish Physiology Course and Dr. Horodysky’s Ichthyology course. Students benefitting from these projects include Jamila-Dawn Payton (M.S. Student, UMES), Elizabeth Seagroves (HU undergraduate) and Krysten Rybyzynske (UMES undergraduate).
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