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National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (CCMA)
Weekly Report – February 6, 2008
Mussel Watch Data Documenting Current U.S. Shellfish Disease Level to Benefit Global Warming Research
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment's Mussel Watch Project has published the first country-wide analysis of parasites and pathologies in oysters and mussels to provide a baseline that can be used to judge range shifts due to global warming. Findings are represented for 126 coastal areas of the U.S. Parasites and diseases in the aquatic environment are known to be moving north and the Mussel Watch Project has the only time series capable of identifying these movements. For more information, contact Gunnar Lauenstein at (301) 713-3028 x152 or Gunnar.Lauenstein@noaa.gov, or John Christensen at (301) 713-3028 x153 or John.Christensen@noaa.gov.
Significance: Stationary shellfish, like mussels and oysters, serve as sentinels of water quality in a specific location. Analysis of contaminant levels in their tissues shows improving or deteriorating trends in water quality and the level of disease incidence around the U.S.