Hematodinium perezi

Hematodinium perezi is an internal dinoflagellate parasite that infects crustaceans, including blue crabs, and causes bitter crab disease. Other crustaceans that have been observed to be infected include the Norway Lobster and King Crab, and has been observed to have a significant impact on crustacean fisheries. Infected crabs frequently show signs of weakness and lethargy, and often die due to stress-related handling from fishing as well as metabolic exhaustion due to reduced feeding. This parasite is known to be transmitted between alternate crustacean hosts, through the sharing of water and with the feeding of crabs on infected crabs.

H. perezi is a type species of the genus Hematodinium, and H. perezi has only recently been identified as the specific parasitic dinoflagellate infecting crustaceans. In the east coast of the United States, the disease is most prevalent in the autumn months when the species blooms off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Infected crabs have been observed to have mortality rates as high as 86 percent after only a few weeks, and infection is found to be more prevalent in higher salinity waters towards the mouth of the bay where Callinectes go to spawn, generally 12 PSU and up.

Further reading

Lohan, Katrina; McDowell, Jan; Shields, Jeffrey; Reece, Kimberly (February 2014). "Genotypic variation in the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium perezi along the Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia". Marine Biology. 161 (2): 261–273. doi:10.1007/s00227-013-2332-3. S2CID 54079257.

Small, Hamish J.; Shields, Jeffrey D.; Reece, Kimberly S.; Bateman, Kelly; Stentiford, Grant D. (2011). "Morphological and molecular characterization of Hematodinium perezi (Dinophyceae: Syndiniales), a dinoflagellate parasite of the harbour crab, Liocarcinus depurator". Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 59 (1): 54–66. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00592.x. PMID 22092696. S2CID 36550547.

Li, Caiwen; Song, Shuqun; Liu, Yun; Chen, Tiantian (18 February 2013). "Hematodinium infections in cultured Chinese swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus, in northern China". Aquaculture. 396: 59–65. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2013.02.022.

Messick, Gretchen; Shields, Jeffrey (2000). "Epizootiology of the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium sp in the American blue crab Callinectes sapidus". Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 10 (43): 139–152. doi:10.3354/dao043139. PMID 11145454.

Newman, Martin; Johnson, Charles (Jun 1975). "A Disease of Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) Caused by a Parasitic Dinoflagellate, Hematodinium sp". Parasitology. 61 (3): 554–557. doi:10.2307/3279346. JSTOR 3279346. S2CID 51777294.