Milbemycin oxime (Interceptor) treatment of pycnogonid sea spider infestation in three species of corals
Abstract
A coral reef system at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, CA, USA experienced a population explosion of pycnogonid sea spiders (Arthropoda: Class Pycnogonida) with subsequent deleterious health effects on the corals in the system. Sixteen coral colonies across three species ( Stylophora pistillata , Pocillopora damicornis , and Acropora tenuis ) were chosen from this system for milbemycin oxime immersion therapy trials, with the goal of decreasing or eradicating the sea spider population with minimal detrimental effect to the corals. Corals underwent two milbemycin immersion treatments, administered 1 wk apart, at the previously published aquatic invertebrate dose of 0.016 parts per million (ppm; mg/L), but therapy did not reduce the number of sea spiders. Doubling the dose to 0.032 ppm milbemycin and repeating this immersion therapy 1/wk for three treatments successfully reduced the sea spiders. Histopathology was used to assess the health of the corals and tolerance to therapy, and posttreatment biopsies confirmed that there were no adverse effects to any of the three species of coral. Repeated 1/ wk treatments of milbemycin oxime immersion therapy at 0.032 ppm appears to be both safe and effective for reducing the numbers of pycnogonid sea spiders in the stony corals S. pistillata , P. damicornis , and A. tenuis .
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Ill-animal biopsies can identify pathogens causing malaise, while shifts from the normal endolithic makeup can be indicative of the health of the colony, sometimes irrespective of gross appearance.
“Ill-animal biopsies can identify pathogens causing malaise, while shifts from the normal endolithic makeup can be indicative of the health of the colony, sometimes irrespective of gross appearance [10].”
Bacterial, fungal, or ciliate overgrowth as a cause of coral illness can be diagnosed via a simple skin scrape of tissue and microscopic analysis.
“Bacterial, fungal, or ciliate overgrowth as a cause of coral illness can be diagnosed via a simple skin scrape of tissue and microscopic analysis [1,10].”
Corals have a rich endolithic community, and together, they are known as the coral holobiont.
“Corals have a rich endolithic community, and together, they are known as the coral holobiont [1,10,11].”
A layer of specific algal hyphae has been accepted as an appropriate finding for corals from the PCR habitat, as it is seen repeatedly in animals with no evidence of gross nor histopathological abnormalities.
“For example, although initially thought to be an overgrowth of microorganisms and a possible cause of malaise in colonies from the PCR, a layer of specific algal hyphae has now been accepted as an appropriate finding for corals from this habitat, as it is seen repeatedly in animals with no evidence of gross nor histopathological abnormalities [10].”
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References 12 · Cited by 5
- Authors
- Krol, L., Dunker, F. H., LaDouceur, E., Biswell, E., Dilly, G. F., Delbeek, J. C., Albright, R., López-Nandam, E. H., Reinbold, N., Igel, A., Larkin, L., & Hill, J.
- Affiliations
- California Academy of Sciences (US)
- Joint Pathology Center (US)
- California State University, Channel Islands (US)
- Corresponding author
- Krol, Lana
- Dunker, Freeland H.
- LaDouceur, Elise
- Biswell, Ethan
- Dilly, Geoffrey F.
- Delbeek, J. Charles
- Albright, Rebecca
- López-Nandam, Elora H.
- Reinbold, Nicholas
- Igel, Anthony
- Larkin, Lisa
- Hill, Jessica
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
- Published
- 2023-07-07
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 292-300
- ISSN
- 1042-7260 (ISSN-L)
- 1937-2825
- OpenAlex
- W4383556163
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- milbemycin oxime, Stylophora pistillata, Pocillopora damicornis, Acropora tenuis, coral health, histopathology, parasitic arthropods
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Macrolides, Anthozoa
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