MYCOBACTERIOSIS,<i>MYCOBACTERIUM CHELONAE</i>, IN A CAPTIVE YELLOW STINGRAY (<i>UROBATIS JAMAICENSIS</i>)

Clarke, Elsburgh O.; Dorn, Brian R.; Boone, Allison; Risatti, Guillermo R.; Gilbert-Marcheterre, Kelly; Harms, Craig A.

doi:10.1638/2012-0018r2.1

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In an effort to deepen the connection between visitors and the animals on exhibit, many zoos and aquariums have touch‐tanks that promote science education (Kisiel, Rowe, Vartabedian, & Kopczak, ; Kopczak, Kisiel, & Rowe, ). The few studies focusing on human interaction with touch‐tanks examined animal well‐being and growth, or human stress and emotional response (Casamitjana, ; Clarke III et al, ; Morris et al, ; Payne, , Persky et al, ; Sahrmann, Niedbalski, Bradshaw, Johnson, & Deem, ). Studies have reported occasional abnormalities among tank residents (Morris et al, ; Persky et al, ), however, animals can breed on exhibit, suggesting that basic biological needs are typically being met (Payne, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The skin microbiome of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch‐tank exhibit

2017

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Public aquaria offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch-tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life via physical contact. Despite the popularity of touch-tanks, there is a paucity of research about animal health in these exhibits and, in particular, there is little research on the microbial communities in these highly interactive exhibits. Microbial community structure can have implications for both host health and habitat function. To better understand the microbiome of a touch-tank we used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze the microbial community on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) as well as their environment in a frequently visited touch-tank exhibit at the New England Aquarium. Our analyses revealed a distinct microbial community associated with the skin of the ray that had lower diversity than the surrounding habitat. The ray skin was dominated by three orders: Burkholderiales (∼55%), Flavobacteriales (∼19%), and Pseudomonadales (∼12%), taxonomic groups commonly associated with other fish species. Our results provide a survey of ray-associated bacterial communities in a touch-tank environment, thereby laying the foundation for future studies examining the role of potential challenges to ray microbiota and their associated health.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The skin microbiome of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch‐tank exhibit

2017

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“…One study, for example, reported the development of a large abscess on the dorsal surface of the calvarium and swollen soft tissue around the left spiracle of an adult Yellow stingray Urobatis jamaicensis raised in captivity, identified as associated to mycobacteria. A significant amount of fluid exudate was drained from the site, the specimen was sacrificed and disseminated mycobacteriosis was later confirmed ( Clarke et al, 2013 ). According to the authors, primary mycobacteriosis can lead fish to succumb to opportunistic diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Clarke et al (2013) , mycobacterial species are ubiquitous in the environment and have been observed in biofilms from aquaculture systems and drinking water sources. The known routes of infection are by immersion in contaminated water, traumatic inoculation and ingestion of bacteria or infected tissues or protozoa containing the microorganism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elasmobranch-associated microbiota: a scientometric literature review

Costa

Oliveira

Wosnick

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Elasmobranchs provide greatly relevant ecosystem services for the balance of the environments in which they are inserted. In recent decades, sharp population declines have been reported for many species in different regions worldwide, making this taxonomic group currently one of the most threatened with extinction. This scenario is almost entirely due to excessive fishing pressure, but any contributing factor that may cause additional mortality to populations must be mapped and monitored. In a fast-changing world, emerging marine pollution associated with climate change display the potential to increase the spread of infectious agents. These can, in turn, lead to mortality events, both directly and indirectly, by reducing immune responses and the physical and nutritional condition of affected individuals. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze data concerning elasmobranch-associated microbiota, identifying study trends and knowledge gaps in order to direct future studies on this topic of growing relevance for the health of wild populations, as well as individuals maintained in captivity, considering the zoonotic potential of these microorganisms.

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“…44 Despite the popularity of touch tanks, there is a paucity of research about animal health in these 45 exhibits. The few studies focusing on elasmobranchs in and associated with touch tanks 46 examined shark growth rates (Payne and Rufo 2012), plasma biochemistry values (Persky et al 47 2012), goiter onset (Morris et al 2012), stingray abscess development (Clarke III et al 2013), 48 behavior (Casamitjana 2004), as well as the human stress response and emotional responses to 49 contact with the animals (Sahrmann et al 2015). Casamitjana (2004) suggested that touch tank 50 exhibits may be maladaptive to elasmobranchs and other studies reported that abnormalities are 51 occasionally observed (Persky et al 2012; Morris et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

The skin microbiome of cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch-tank exhibit

Kearns

Bowen

Tlusty

2016

Preprint

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Public aquarium exhibits offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life. However, despite the popularity of these exhibits, the effect of human interactions on the host-associated microbiome or the habitat microbiome remains unclear. Microbial communities, both hostassociated and habitat associated can have great implications for host health and habitat function. To better understand the link between human interactions and the microbiome of a touch tank we used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze the microbial community on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) as well as its environment in a frequently visited touch tank exhibit at the New England Aquarium. Our analyses revealed a distinct microbial community associated with the skin of the ray that had lower diversity than the surrounding habitat. The ray skin was dominated by three orders: Burkholderiales (~55%), Flavobacteriales (~19%) and Pseudomonadales (~12%), suggesting a potentially important role of these taxa in ray health. Further, there was no difference between dorsal and ventral surface of the ray in terms of microbial composition or diversity, and a very low presence of common humanassociated microbial taxa (<1.5%). Our results suggest that human contact has a minimal effect on the skin and habitat microbiome of the cow-nose ray and that the ray skin harbors a distinct and lower diversity microbial community than its environment.PeerJ Preprints | https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2341v1 | CC BY 4.0 Open Access |

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MYCOBACTERIOSIS,MYCOBACTERIUM CHELONAE, IN A CAPTIVE YELLOW STINGRAY (UROBATIS JAMAICENSIS)

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

The skin microbiome of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch‐tank exhibit

The skin microbiome of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch‐tank exhibit

Elasmobranch-associated microbiota: a scientometric literature review

The skin microbiome of cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch-tank exhibit

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