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John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

•  Northern-most portion of the LWL –  North of the Lake Worth Inlet

•  325 acres on a barrier island •  Mangrove fringed estuary

–  Stable salinity site –  Mixed substrate

Ibis Isle •  Located on the east side of the

Central LWL •  Located between two inlets

–  Lake Worth Inlet (N) and Boynton Inlet (S)

•  South of the C51-discharge canal –  FW discharge from Lake

Okeechobee –  Muck substrate

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•  Located on the west side of the central LWL –  Man-made islands (2005) –  100 acres of wetland habitat –  2.2 acres of oyster reefs

•  Located between two inlets –  Lake Worth Inlet (N) and Boynton Inlet (S)

•  South of the C51-discharge canal –  FW discharge from Lake Okeechobee

•  South of Ibis Isle –  Rock substrate (limestone boulders)

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Environmental data

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Perkinsus Prevalence

Dinoflagellate – hemocytes - Oysters - definitive host Prevalence is lowest in winter - Lowest at Snook Island

Perkinsus Intensity

Intensity corresponded to prevalence

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Nematopsis

Gregarine parasite - mantle & gills - Crustaceans - definitive host

Greatest prevalence in year one - At Snook Island

Intensities typically low

- Highest in spring & summer

Bucephalus

Trematode - gonad

Fish sp. - definitive hosts

Low prevalence

- Varying intensity

Not found at MacArthur

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Tylocephalum

Larval cestode - connective tissue

Elasmobranchs - definitive hosts

No seasonal association

Low intensity

Lowest prevalence at Ibis Isles

Turbellarians

Free-living commensal parasites

- Predominately Urastoma sp.

Low intensity

Absent from the central lagoon during summer

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Eutima

Hydrozoans

Varying intensity

Lowered prevalence in year two

Seasonal preference

- Absent from central lagoon during summer

Ciliates

Predominately external

Sphenophyra sp., Ancistrocoma sp.

Heavy gut infection at Ibis Isles in August 2009

- Concurrent with massive restoration project

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Miscellaneous

•  No MSX was found –  Haplosporidium nelsoni

•  Ovacystis virus –  MacArthur Park

•  March 2007

Misc. predators, parasites

Oyster drills

- Snook Island

- MacArthur Park

Stylochus

Pinnotheres

- Snook Island, year round (~5%)

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•  Variety of oyster parasites in LWL –  Oysters often had multiple parasites

•  Highest prevalence –  Perkinsus, Nematopsis, Tylocephalum

•  Lowest prevalence –  Bucephalus

•  Salinity effects –  Perkinsus intensity, Eutima prevalence, Turbellarian prevalence

•  Temperature effects –  Perkinsus prevalence & intensity,

•  Location effects –  Bucephalus, ciliates

•  Ibis Isle

•  Wide variety of oyster parasites in the LWL –  Indicates a wide variety of other species and

healthy ecosystem •  Some parasites are sensitive to

environmental fluctuations •  Year to year variation may be due to a

variety of factors – Environmental fluctuations, presence of

definitive hosts, substrate, disturbance

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•  Aswani Volety (FGCU) and Jim Winstead •  Staff of MacArthur State Park, Ibis Isle and the Lake Worth

Municipal Golf Course •  Federico Prahl, Michelle Harangody and William Krebs (HBOI) •  Palm Beach – Environmental Resources Management personnel

and support (Project #2008-0404)