Causes of oyster larvae mortality in south Puget Sound
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Causes of oyster larvae mortality in south Puget Sound

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Causes of oyster larvae mortality in south Puget Sound
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  • Personal Author:
  • Corporate Authors:
    Marine EcoSystems Analysis Program
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
  • Description:
    Water samples were collected from the southern Puget Sound (SPS) basin in September 1977 and characterized for acute toxicity to Pacific oyster larvae (Crassostrea gigas), chemical composition, and biological composition. Certain receiving waters containing the dinoflagellates Ceratium fusus and Gymnodinium splendens were also tested specially to determine if they were toxic to oyster larvae, as was a laboratory culture of C^. fusus. Toxicity tests of two sewage treatment plant effluents, ammonium chloride, and salinity were also conducted. When contrasted to an existing historical record of receiving water toxicity to oyster larvae, certain bays and inlets of SPS continued to be highly toxic to the larvae. Bioassays confirmed that at least £. fusus, and circumstantially G^. splendens, can be acutely toxic to oyster larvae. Toxicity was expressed as increased larval mortality, increased significantly descending from the surface to a depth of at least 9.1 m, and was greatest in Case, Budd, Eld, Totten and Henderson Inlets. The causes of oyster larvae mortality seemed clear from the laboratory and special receiving water bioassays of the dinoflagellates. Several multi-parameter statistical tests attempted to ferret and rank 16 biologic and chemical parameters in terms of their association with receiving water toxicity. Although salinity and chlorophyll a. were consistently identified as being associated with toxicity, the data base proved too meager to accommodate the desired discrimination. Sglinity definitely caused toxicity in certain areas; the EC50 was 14.9 /oo and the LC50 12.8 °/oo. Ammonia, which was toxic in the lab at 15 mg NHg-N per liter (EC50), was present in situ only in biologically innocuous concentrations. Sewage treatment plant effluents had such low toxicity (EC50's >1% effluent) that they could impart only localized toxicity in situ. The recurring aestival receiving water toxicity problem in SPS is believed to affect, at a minimum, other species of bivalve molluscs. Evidence is presented suggesting the susceptibility of adult Pacific oyster, Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida), and Manila littleneck clam (Venerupis japonica).
  • Keywords:
  • Series:
    NOAA technical memorandum ERL MESA ; 39
  • Document Type:
    Technical Memorandum
  • Place as Subject:
    Puget Sound Watershed (Wash.)
  • License:
  • Rights Information:
    CC0 Public Domain
  • Compliance:
    Library
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