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Marrowstone Marine Field Station (MMFS)

In the NW Region of the USGS the MMFS represents the exclusive marine/seawater-based research facility. The availability and delivery of exceptionally high quality seawater represents one of the finest operational attributes of the MMFS, on the NW shore of Puget Sound. Basic and applied research at the MMFS is directed towards understanding ecological processes that impact marine ecosystem health.

News

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Something Fishy from the Western Fisheries Research Center - Winter 2022

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Western Fisheries Research Center at National American Fisheries Society Meeting

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Something Fishy from the Western Fisheries Research Center - Summer 2022

Publications

A phylogeny based on cytochrome-c oxidase gene sequences identifies sympatric Ichthyophonus genotypes in the NE Pacific Ocean

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, evidence has accumulated to suggest that the widespread and highly variable parasite Ichthyophonus hoferi is actually a species complex. Highly plastic morphology and a general lack of defining structures has contributed to the likely underestimate of biodiversity within this group. Molecular methods are a logical next step in the description of these parasites, but ma
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Jacob L. Gregg, Paul Hershberger, Abigail S. Neat, Hiruni T. Jayasekera, Jayde A. Ferguson, Rachel L. Powers, Maureen K. Purcell

A novel approach for directly incorporating disease into fish stock assessment: A case study with seroprevalence data

When estimating mortality from disease with fish population models, common disease surveillance data such as infection prevalence are not always informative, especially for fast-acting diseases that may go unobserved in infrequently sampled populations. In these cases, seroprevalence — the proportion of fish with measurable antibody levels in their blood — may be more informative. In cases of life
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John T. Trochta, Maya Groner, Paul Hershberger, Trevor A. Branch

Warming sea surface temperatures fuel summer epidemics of eelgrass wasting disease

Seawater temperatures are increasing, with many unquantified impacts on marine diseases. While prolonged temperature stress can accelerate host-pathogen interactions, the outcomes in nature are poorly quantified. We monitored eelgrass wasting disease (EWD) from 2013-2017 and correlated mid-summer prevalence of EWD with remotely sensed seawater temperature metrics before, during, and after the 2015
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Maya Groner, Morgan E. Eisenlord, Reyn M. Yoshioka, Evan A. Fiorenza, Phoebe D. Dawkins, Olivia J. Graham, Miranda Winningham, Alex Vompe, Natalie D. Rivlin, Bo Yang, Colleen A. Burge, Brendan Rappazzo, Carla P. Gomes, C. Drew Harvell

Science

Phylogenetics of Ichthyophonus parasites

Ichthyophonus spp. are perhaps the most economically and ecologically important parasites of wild marine fish in the world.
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Phylogenetics of Ichthyophonus parasites

Ichthyophonus spp. are perhaps the most economically and ecologically important parasites of wild marine fish in the world.
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PCB Exposure and Disease Susceptibility

Researchers at that MMFS are experimentally determining the impacts of high PCB body burdens on the immunocompetency and disease susceptibility of Pacific herring.
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PCB Exposure and Disease Susceptibility

Researchers at that MMFS are experimentally determining the impacts of high PCB body burdens on the immunocompetency and disease susceptibility of Pacific herring.
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PAH Exposure and Disease Susceptibility

Researchers at the MMFS are studying the immediate and delayed effects of petroleum hydrocarbon exposures to Pacific herring.
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PAH Exposure and Disease Susceptibility

Researchers at the MMFS are studying the immediate and delayed effects of petroleum hydrocarbon exposures to Pacific herring.
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