Abstract
A two-year survey for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) was conducted in Narragansett Bay using the mouse assay method. The suspected causative organisms,Dinophysis spp., were monitored at the same time. Only one shellfish sample, in September 1984, yielded an unequivocal positive result at a time when the dinoflagellate population was dominated byD. acuminata. False positive results were suspected in May, when the mussels appeared sexually matured, and in, the summer of 1985, at the time of an unusual massive picoplanktonic bloom. Evidence of toxin production byD. acuminata was obtained from an almost monospecific sample; we calculated that over 5.4×105 cells would be necessary to produce one mouse unit. The specificity and sensitivity of the assay method are questioned and improvements for DSP detection are suggested.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Droop, M. R. 1959. Water-soluble factors in the nutrition ofOxyrrhis marina.J. Mar. Biol. Assoc U.K. 38:605–620.
Droop, M. R., andJ. F. Pennock. 1971. Terpenoid quinones and steroids in the nutrition ofOxyrrhis marina.J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 51:455–470.
Freudenthal, A. R., andJ. Jijina. 1985. Shelfish poisoning episodes involving or coincidental with dinoflagellates, p. 461–466.In D. M. Anderson, A. W. White, and D. G. Baden (eds.), Toxic Dinoflagellates, Elsevier, New York.
Frithsen, J. B., P. A. Lane, A. A. Keller, andM. E. Q. Pilson. 1985. Effects of inorganic nutrient addition in coastal areas. A mesocosm experiment. Data Rep. MERL Ser., Vol. 2, Rep. #4 URI, Kingston, Rhode Island.
Gates, J. A., andW. B. Wilson. 1960. The toxicity ofGonyaulax monilata Howell toMugil cephalus.Limnol. Oceanogr. 5:171–174.
Guillard, R. R. L., andJ. H. Ryther. 1962. Studies of marine planktonic diatoms. I.Cyclotella nana Hustedt andDetonula confervacea (Cleve) Gran.Can. J. Microbiol. 8:229–238.
Hamano, Y., Y. Kinoshita, andT. Yasumoto. 1985. Suckling mice assay for diarrhetic shellfish toxins. p. 383–388.In D. M. Anderson, A. W. White, and D. G. Baden (eds), Toxic Dinoflagellates, Elsevier, New York.
Joseph, J. D. 1982. Lipid composition of marine and estuarine invertebrates. Part II: Mollusca.Prog. Lipid Res. 21:109–153.
Kat, M. 1985.Dinophysis acuminata blooms, the distinct cause of Dutch mussel poisoning, p. 73–77.In D. M. Anderson, A. W. White, and D. G. Baden (eds.), Toxic Dinoflagellates. Elsevier, New York.
Keller, S. E., S. H. Hutner, andD. E. Keller. 1968. Rearing the colorless marine dinoflagellateCryptothecodinium cohnii for use as a biochemical tool.J. Protozool. 15:792–795.
Murata, M., M. Shimatani, H. Sugitani, Y. Oshima, andT. Yasumoto. 1982. Isolation and structural elucidation of the causative toxin of the diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish. 48:549–552.
NOAA. 1984. Climatological Data—New England.. Volume 96(9) p. 1–36. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Asheville North Carolina.
Sieburth, J. McN., P. W. Johnson, and P. E. Hargraves. 1986.Pardococcus anorexus nom. prov., a bloom-forming chrysophycean picoplankter inducing anorexia in filter-feeding animals in Narragansett Bay, RI during summer 1985: Ultrastructure and predators. Abstract ASLO June 1986, p. 119.
Takagi, T., K. Hayashi, andY. Itabashi. 1984. Toxic effect of free unsaturated fatty acids in the mouse assay of diarrhetic shellfish toxin by intraperitoneal injection.Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish. 50:1413–1418.
Tangen, K. 1983. Mussel poisoning and the occurrence of potentially toxic dinoflagellates in Norwegian waters. I.C.E.S., C.M./L:3 Biol. Oceanogr. Comm. Ref. MEQC:1–10.
Tracey, G. A., 1985. Picoplanktonic algal bloom causes a catastrophic mussel kill in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Abstract ASLO, January 1986.Eos 66:1303.
Tuttle, R. C., andA. R. Loeblich, III. 1975 An optimal growth medium for the dinoflagellateCrypthecodinium cohnii.Phycologia 14:1–8.
Yasumoto, T., 1985. Recent progress in the chemistry of dinoflagellate toxins, p. 259–270.In D. M. Anderson, A. W. White, and D. G. Baden (eds.), Toxic Dinoflagellates. Elsevier, New York.
Yasumoto, T., M. Murata, Y. Oshima, G. K. Matsumoto, andJ. Clardy. 1984. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, p. 207–214.In E. P. Ragelis (ed.), Seafood Toxins, ACS Symp. Ser. 262. Am. Chem. Soc., Washington, D.C.
Yasumoto, T., Y. Oshima, andM. Yamaguchi. 1978. Occurrence of a new type of shellfish poisoning in the Tohoku district.Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish. 44:1249–1255.
Yasumoto, T., Y. Oshima, W. Sugawara, Y. Fukuyo, H. Oguri, T. Igarashi, andN. Fujita. 1980. Identification ofDinophysis fortii as the causative organism of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish. 46:1405–1411.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maranda, L., Shimizu, Y. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in Narragansett Bay. Estuaries 10, 298–302 (1987). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351887
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351887