Pacific Oysters and

Ecosystem Health

Mackenzie Gavery

University of Washington

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences

Pacific oysters as indicators of Puget

Sound health:

• Common, widely distributed

• Immobile with high site fidelity

• Reasonably resistant to

contaminants

• Bioaccumulate at levels relative

to their environment

Pacific oysters as indicators of Puget

Sound health:

•Important to the region

•economically

•culturally

•socially

Outline Overview of PROPS

Methods

Data

Next steps

Objectives

Implement use of biomarkers to assess Puget Sound

ecosystem health

Determine indirect biological effects of local stressors

Characterize epigenetic impacts on shellfish

PROPS: Physiological Response

of Oysters in Puget Sound

Methods: Site SelectionLevel of concern:

High

Mid

Low

Pacific oyster populations:

natural set

commercially farmed

(outplanted juveniles)

Juveniles oyster siblings

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

T=0 Willapa Bay Samish Bay North Bay

sh

ell

len

gth

(m

m)

*

April June

Low Mid High

A

B

Methods: Sampling

Adults (n=20)

size

gill tissue

hemolymph

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Mar-07 Jun-07 Sep-07 Dec-07 Mar-08 Jun-08 Sep-08 Dec-08 Mar-09

Fecal C

olif

orm

(FC

/100m

L)

Tem

p (

ºC)

/ S

alin

ity (

ppt)

Site A: Drayton Harbor (WA DOH)

Fecal Coliform

Temp

Methods: Water Quality Data WA State Department of Health

Department of Ecology

University of Washington

Mar-07 Jun-07 Sep-07 Dec-07 Mar-08 Jun-08 Sep-08 Dec-08 Mar-09

Salinity

Methods: Integrated Approach

Gene expression

Indirect biological effects – response to a

secondary stressor

Epigenetic characterization

Gene expression

Indirect biological effects – response to a

secondary stressor

Epigenetic characterization

Methods: Integrated Approach

Indirect biological effects Are current environmental conditions impairing the

ability of an organism to respond successfully to a

future stress?

Applying a stress in the field and evaluating response:

stress (mechanical) response (noradrenaline)

a “normal” response is an increase in noradrenaline after

applying mechanical stress.

Noradrenaline: results

0

5

10

15

20

25

pre- post-stress

no

rad

ren

ali

ne

(p

g/m

L)

pre- post-stress

High

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

pre- post-stress

no

rad

ren

ali

ne

(p

g/m

L)

Mid

Low

Gene expression

Indirect biological effects – response to a

secondary stressor

Epigenetic characterization

Methods: Integrated Approach

Epigenetics Heritable changes in trait or phenotype, caused by a

mechanism other than mutation to the DNA sequence

Most common epigenetic mechanism is DNA methylation:

Me

C

G

T

A

Compounds that impact normal epigenetic functions:

Endocrine disruptors

estrogen

BPA

Effects of epigenetic disruptions:

tumor promotion

alteration of development

inhibition of reproduction

Epigenetics

Epigenetics:

DNA methylation analysis

extract DNA

bind DNA to

plate

add antibody to

5-me-cytosine

add secondary

enzyme

Whole genome DNA

methylation

quanitification

ELISA based

Result is % methylated

DNA

Epigenetics: Data

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

Site C Site A

estim

ate

d %

DN

A m

eth

yla

tion

P = 0.03

LowHigh

Summary

Noradrenaline concentration following stress may be a good

candidate to evaluate indirect biological effects.

Preliminary data show epigenetic variability between oyster

populations in Puget Sound.

These methods have the potential to provide valuable

information on ecosystem health.

Acknowledgements Dr. Steven Roberts – UW, SAFS

Samuel White – UW, SAFS

Joth Davis - Taylor Shellfish Farms

All the Volunteers