Margalefidinium polykrikos Impact on Mortality Rates of Juvenile Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in Lafayette River Water
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Large algal blooms cause depletion in oxygen which results in biochemical harm within marine ecosystems. Margalefidinium polykrikos, a harmful algae known for their red tides, have been monitored in the Chesapeake Bay tributary for over 60 years. The toxin produced harm and potentially killed other phytoplankton, fish, and caused illness to humans and pets. Filter feeding organisms such as eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) can serve as an important indicator of M polykrikos bloom concentrations as they are hardy to the toxic algae display a range of mortality rate based on age. The current research on mortality rates of organisms by M. polykrikos have been analyzed, but these field studies only contain bloom concentrations. In this lab study, oysters were kept in an incubator for several months to acclimate to the temperature of the M polykrikos culture. Two methods were conducted to dictate the survival rates of juvenile oysters against cultured M. polykrikos blooms. The first conducted experiment contained two trays of five milliliter falcon well plates that were observed in an incubator everyday for six days. Each well plate had triplicates of four treatments of cultured M. polykrikos media with a constant of sterile Lafayette river water. The lack of dissolved oxygen, evaporation, and nutrient levels could have disrupted this experimental design. The second design proposed a solution for the faults of the past experiments by using an air stone and beakers. This experiment design will further eliminate other variables and dictate the mortality rate of juvenile oysters.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Dr. Taylor Sloey , Dr. Margaret Mulholland
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
Ocean and Earth Sciences
College Affiliation
College of Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster
Disciplines
Laboratory and Basic Science Research | Marine Biology
Session Title
Poster Session
Location
Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library
Start Date
3-30-2024 8:30 AM
End Date
3-30-2024 10:00 AM
Upload File
wf_yes
Margalefidinium polykrikos Impact on Mortality Rates of Juvenile Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in Lafayette River Water
Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library
Large algal blooms cause depletion in oxygen which results in biochemical harm within marine ecosystems. Margalefidinium polykrikos, a harmful algae known for their red tides, have been monitored in the Chesapeake Bay tributary for over 60 years. The toxin produced harm and potentially killed other phytoplankton, fish, and caused illness to humans and pets. Filter feeding organisms such as eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) can serve as an important indicator of M polykrikos bloom concentrations as they are hardy to the toxic algae display a range of mortality rate based on age. The current research on mortality rates of organisms by M. polykrikos have been analyzed, but these field studies only contain bloom concentrations. In this lab study, oysters were kept in an incubator for several months to acclimate to the temperature of the M polykrikos culture. Two methods were conducted to dictate the survival rates of juvenile oysters against cultured M. polykrikos blooms. The first conducted experiment contained two trays of five milliliter falcon well plates that were observed in an incubator everyday for six days. Each well plate had triplicates of four treatments of cultured M. polykrikos media with a constant of sterile Lafayette river water. The lack of dissolved oxygen, evaporation, and nutrient levels could have disrupted this experimental design. The second design proposed a solution for the faults of the past experiments by using an air stone and beakers. This experiment design will further eliminate other variables and dictate the mortality rate of juvenile oysters.