title: The role of a PSP-producing Alexandrium bloom in an unprecedented diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) mortality event in Flanders Bay, New York, USA.
abstract: Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a threatened or endangered species in much of their range along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Over an approximately three-week period from late April to mid-May 2015, hundreds of adult diamondback terrapins were found dead on the shores of Flanders Bay, Long Island, New York, USA. Concurrent with the mortality event, elevated densities of the paralytic shellfish toxin (PST)-producing dinoflagellate, Alexandrium fundyense (>104cells L-1) and high levels of PST in bivalves (maximal levels = 540 μg STX eq. 100 g-1shellfish tissue) were observed in the Flanders Bay region, resulting in shellfish bed closures in regional tributaries. Gross and histologic postmortem examinations of terrapins revealed no physical trauma to individuals or a common, underlying disease process to explain the deaths. PST compounds (0.2-12.5 μg STX eq. 100 g-1) were present in various M. terrapin tissues collected over the duration of the mortality event. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa, a PST vector) was present in the gastrointestinal tracks of all terrapin samples tested. While the potential of PST to cause mortality in chelonians has not been well-characterized, in the absence of other significant findings from necropsies and pathological analyses, we provide evidence that PST in shellfish was likely high enough to cause or contribute to the mortality in these small (<2.0 kg) animals.
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Southampton, NY, 11968, USA.
authors.forename: Theresa K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Hattenrath-Lehmann
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ossiboff
authors.affiliation: Bigelow Analytical Services, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, 04544, USA.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Burnell
authors.affiliation: Bigelow Analytical Services, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, 04544, USA.
authors.forename: Carlton D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Rauschenberg
authors.affiliation: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Wildlife Health Unit, Delmar, NY, 12054, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hynes
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Department of Biology, Hempstead, NY, 11549, USA.
authors.forename: Russell L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bunting
authors.affiliation: Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, Riverhead, NY, 11901, USA.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Southampton, NY, 11968, USA. Electronic address: christopher.gobler@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Gobler
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry; D049872:Bivalvia; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000737:chemistry*; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D057097:Harmful Algal Bloom; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D009518:New York; D012530:Saxitoxin / Q000633:toxicity; D012758:Shellfish; D057096:Shellfish Poisoning / Q000662:veterinary*; D014426:Turtles
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D012530:Saxitoxin; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Alexandrium; Chelonian; Diamondback terrapins; PST; Saxitoxin; Turtle