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Ostrincola koe (Copepoda, Myicolidae) and mass mortality of cultured hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) in China

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Abstract

We discuss the primary cause of mass mortalities of cultured hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) which occurred in 1988 and 1989 in southern Jiansu, China. Based on a re-examination of the old samples and analysis of information from Japan and Korea, it is concluded that the population explosion of the parasitic copepod, Ostrincola koe Tanaka, in the clam mantle cavity, combined with an acute vibriosis in the intestine, were responsible for the mass mortality. Other incidences of hard clam mass mortalities in China, Korea and Taiwan in the 1970s and 1980s are also discussed.

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Ho, Js., Zheng, GX. Ostrincola koe (Copepoda, Myicolidae) and mass mortality of cultured hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) in China. Hydrobiologia 284, 169–173 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006888

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006888

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