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R/F-88
Susceptibility of Chesapeake Bay to environmental contamination with Cryptosporidium parvum: Recovery of the pathogen by eastern oysters
Principal Investigator:
Thaddeus K. GraczykStart/End Year:
1998 - 2001Institution:
Johns Hopkins UniversityTopic(s):
Description:
Optimize and standardize the most efficient techniques for screening Chesapeake Bay oysters for Cryptosporidium parvam contamination: a) improve the quality of the harvested shellfish, b) quickly, accurately, and economically identify contaminated oyster bars for controlled harvesting, c) determine infectivity to humans of C. parvam oocysts recovered from oyster tissue, d) determine whether oysters can be used as bioindicators of water contamination by C. parvam e) protect human health by prevention of foodborne cryptosporidiosis. To assess the role of environmental components, i.e., wastewater discharges, waterfowl presence, and cattle farm run-offs in contamination of the Chesapeake Bay with C. parvam and to determine epizootiological and epidemiological interplay among these components in order to: a) determine the impact of water contamination on the contamination on natural oyster populations, b) determine the infectivity of the C. parvam oocysts recovered from water samples, c) protect oyster bars from exclusion from economical use, d) provide guidelines for controlling, reducing, or preventing contamination of the Chesapeake Bay with C. parvam.
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
