Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2021
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E103
Höfundar / Authors: Sindri Gíslason (1), Hermann Dreki Guls (2), Árni Kristmundsson (3), Joana Micael (1), Halldór Pálmar Halldórsson (2)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Náttúrustofa Suðvesturlands, 2. Rannsóknasetur Háskóla Íslands á Suðurnesjum, 3. Rannsóknadeild fisksjúkdóma - Tilraunastöð Háskóla Íslands í meinafræði að Keldum
Kynnir / Presenter: Sindri Gíslason
Crustacean shell disease, the progressive degradation of the chitinous exoskeleton through secretion of chitinases and other enzymes by microorganisms, has been reported globally in crustaceans. High levels of pathogens are not to be expected in natural populations, however, the baseline data on the prevalence and intensity of even the most common agents is often lacking. In this study a shell disease in the Atlantic rock crab (Cancer irroratus) is described. These findings are of concern as this is the first time crustacean shell disease is described in Icelandic waters. A total of 3.754 individuals were sampled between June and August in the years 2017–2021 in Hvalfjörður, SW-Iceland. The shell disease was assessed in relation to sex and the pattern of infection on exoskeleton surfaces described. Prevalence and severity of the shell disease was assessed. High proportion of rock crabs were infected to some degree, with prevalence over 60 % in the years 2020 and 2021. Samples from lesions were taken for conventional histological and bacteriological analyses. Subsequently, the 16S rDNA from the observed bacterial isolates was sequenced for species identification. A number of chitinolytic bacteria of several genera were identified from lesions, e.g. Vibrio and Photobacterium. This raises questions of whether the pathogens causing the disease are: (1) new to Iceland, (2) affect native crustacean species and (3) whether environmental factors may be driving the condition.