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.

Presenting Author Name/s

Cheyenne Goodman

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

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Mar 30th, 8:30 AM Mar 30th, 10:00 AM

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.