Aquaculture: 2000 Publications

Author: Bauder, A.G. and Cembella, A.D.
Title: Viability of the toxic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima following ingestion and gut passage in the bay scallop Argopecten irradians.
Publication: Journal of Shellfish Research 19(1): 321-324, 2000.
© National Shellfisheries Association

Notes: Bay scallops Argopecten irradians were fed cells of the epibenthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima, a known producer of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins, in controlled microcosms in the laboratory. Examination of scallop fecal ribbons revealed that ingested P. lima cells were capable of survival and cell division following passage through the scallop gut. This implies that viable P. lima cells released via fecal deposition from transferred stock may be capable of long-term survival and growth. The ability of this dinoflagellate to adapt and survive in a wide variety of benthic environments coupled with circumstantial evidence of its involvement in toxic events, suggests that release of viable cells poses a risk of increasing the geographical range of this species, with negative consequences for the shellfish industry.