Comparison of four clones of the ichthyotoxic flagellate Prymnesium
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Melissa A. Clouse (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Carmelo Tomas
Abstract: Since the mid 1980s blooms of the ichthyotoxic flagellate Prymnesium parvum have
resulted in recurrent fish kills in Texas lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. South Carolina experienced
a bloom of P. parvum in a brackish golf course pond in summer 2001. No dead fish were
reported since the pond had no resident fish. The following year at Artesian Aquafarms in N.C.,
all hybrid striped bass perished to blooms of P. parvum. In the present study, clonal cultures
from each of these blooms were grown in laboratory studies to determine response variation with
nutrient-stressed (N-limited, P-limited) and replete cells for growth, hemolytic activity, and
ichthyotoxicity. A congener, P. calathiferum originally isolated from a New Zealand bloom,
was used for comparison. Of the P. parvum clones, the TX clone overall grew slower (0.21-0.31
div.d-1), had lower hemolytic activity (40-7164 units), but had the highest ichthyotoxicity (1 hr to
kill fish in P-limited, 3 hrs in Replete and N-limited). This clone was the most sensitive to
nutrient stress and conditioning was reduced to 1 week. In contrast, overall growth and
hemolytic activity were greater in the NC (0.21-0.56 div.d-1, 77-21399 units) and SC clones
(0.20-0.70 div·d-1, 45-20795 units) with lower ichthyotoxicity for both (>4 hrs in N-&P-limited).
Prymnesium calathiferum showed substantially lower hemolytic activity (8-779 units), but grew
faster (0.30-0.73 div.d-1) than the P. parvum clones. Nitrogen-deficient cultures were similar to
or more hemolytic than P-deficient cultures for P. parvum, but the P-deficient cultures were the
most ichthyotoxic. Under nutrient-replete conditions, P. calathiferum was the most ichthyotoxic
of the clones with fish mortality occurring in one hour as compared to three hours for the TX
clone. Toxicity in P. parvum is a complex interaction of hemolytic and ichthyotoxic
components.
Comparison of four clones of the ichthyotoxic flagellate Prymnesium
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Algal blooms--Research, Algal blooms--Toxicology, Algal toxins--Research, Algal toxins--Toxicology, Chrysophytes--Toxicology, Fish kills--North Carolina, Fish kills--South Carolina, Fish kills--Texas, Prymnesium, Prymnesium parvum, Toxic algae--Research
- Subjects
- Fish kills -- North Carolina
- Fish kills -- South Carolina
- Fish kills -- Texas
- Prymnesium
- Prymnesium parvum
- Algal blooms -- Toxicology
- Algal blooms -- Research
- Algal toxins -- Research
- Algal toxins -- Toxicology
- Chrysophytes -- Toxicology
- Toxic algae -- Research