Meeting Abstract
Mussels are ecologically and commercially important members of coastal systems. Along the east coast of the United States, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis is commonly infected (typically 30-60% prevalence on Long Island, NY) by the digenean trematode Proctoeces maculatus. This trematode can complete its entire life cycle within mussels and often reaches high intensity levels, causing the disease known as “orange-sickness.” These trematodes negatively impact reproduction of the mussels, but little research has been done to examine the effects of these parasites on other aspects of mussel biology such as byssal thread production. Byssal threads are vital to maintaining mussels in their turbulent environments and some stressors (e.g., lowered pH) are known to influence their material properties. In the present work, the impacts of P. maculatus on the total number of byssal threads produced and attachment strength of mussels collected from Long Island, NY were tested. Over one week of isolation in the laboratory, mussels with high parasite intensity (>10 sporocysts/6mm biopsy) produced a significantly lower number of byssal threads than mussels with low parasite intensity (<10 sporocysts/6mm biopsy). In addition, mussels with high parasite intensity had significantly lower attachment strength than mussels with low parasite intensity. The findings indicate that the physiological impacts of P. maculatus on mussel hosts need to be more fully examined, especially considering that the range of this parasite appears to have expanded northward in recent years. Such parasites may have synergistic effects with other environmental stressors, making mussels more susceptible to die-offs.
