| The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is an important economic resource for the Connecticut shellfish industry. This study examined whether the prevalence of pathological changes and disease in oysters occurs in association with elevated metal concentrations in their tissues or surrounding sediment environments. Fifty oysters of the same size (75-100mm) were collected from seed oyster beds at five locations during late Fall 2008 from three separate rivers/harbors along the CT coast representing a variety of sediment environments. The oysters were examined for condition index, the presence of pathologic changes, and disease. Results were compared with results of a concurrent study examining sediment and tissue metal concentrations of the same respective population of oysters. The prevalence of pathologies and disease in the oysters varied among the sites examines in the Housatonic River estuary, New Haven harbor and Westbrook harbor. No straight line association from a pathological response to an injurious agent, in this case metal contamination, can be clearly drawn from the present study. |
