Bacterial Pathogens Associated with Cultured Bivalve Mollusk Larvae

Abstract

Whenever man has established a husbandry, be it plant or animal, he has inadvertently, but concomitantly also established communities of competitors, predators, and parasites. The culture of marine invertebrates has been no exception. Like the rest of us, marine invertebrates spend their lives in environments permeated with bacteria and other microorganisms — the vast majority of which are either entirely harmless, or may indeed, serve as the first link in the food chain. However, our concern here is with the small minority of microbial pathogens, since it would be presumptuous if not impossible to cover all bacteria associated with marine larvae; and this discussion will be limited to some experiences with bacterial pathogens of larval juvenile bivalve mollusks.