A deep dive into the epibiotic communities on aquacultured sugar kelp Saccharina latissima in Southern New England

Details

• Journal Title:
  Algal Research
• Personal Author:
  Liu, Yuan ; Wikfors, Gary H. ; Clark, Paul ; Pitchford, Steven ; Krisak, Melissa ; Dixon, Mark S. ; Li, Yaqin
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
• Description:
  Sugar kelp cultivation at the southern end of its range on the east coast of North America is being pursued commercially for human consumption, which demands a high-quality product. Blade quality can be compromised by attached organisms – epibionts. Biweekly examination of epibionts on sugar kelp was conducted April–May 2018, on a kelp farm in eastern Long Island Sound, CT, USA. Culturable Vibrio spp. were not present on kelp blades until May and were limited to only old sections. No Vibrio colonies were human pathogens V. parahaemolyticus or V. vulnificus, based upon ToxR-specific multiplex PCR assays. Neither epibenthic cyanobacteria Lyngbya spp. nor the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima, microbes of concern because of toxigenicity, were detected on kelp by microscopy or metabarcoding of partial rRNA genes. The lacy bryozoan was the only epibiotic animal observed that could cause damage to kelp, but its abundance was low.
• Keywords:
  • Sugar kelp
  • Epibionts
  • eDNA metabarcoding
  • Indicator species
  • Vibrio
  • Toxigenic microalgae
  • Saccharina latissima
• Source:
  Algal Research 63 (2022) 102654
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2022.102654
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Rights Information:
  CC BY-NC-ND
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/47691/noaa_47691_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.87 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2332bb3c74fad662869826001bc7a14881ea142d493fbd915afff83c81290d00