UNCW researchers identify new parasite found in NC scallops
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW’s Shellfish Research Hatchery discovered the parasite in 2012, but it was only recently identified.
This parasite is harmful to Native Bay Scallops – it doesn’t kill them, but it does stunt their reproduction quality.
The parasite was first discovered in 2012 by Ami E. Wilbur ’85, a professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology, who has been studying scallops for 30 years. The previously undescribed species of trematode, which is a class of flatworm, were found in about 20% of scallops along the NC coast.
“It’s visible when you open a scallop that’s infected. You can see it,” said Julia Buck, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology.
UNCW says the parasite is bad news for native bay scallop populations in North Carolina, which are already stressed.
“Everything from red tides to destruction of seagrass habitat, overfishing, trophic cascades where there are more predators around that are eating them, and so on and so forth. And this is just another hit,” Buck explained.
The facts that the parasite infects such a popular species and is obvious to the naked eye, but was not seen before 2012, mean it is likely an introduced species. It uses the bay scallop as a first intermediate host, but later hosts in its lifecycle remain unidentified, pending further research.
