January 27: Dr. Susan Laramore - Oysters Got the Blues: Emerging Bivalve Disease and Climate Variability

About the Lecture

The lowly oyster might not be the most interesting creature in the world to watch, but it plays a crucial role in the ecosystem and has been a source of protein for thousands of years. Oysters, like humans, are impacted by disease issues and what is detrimental to the health of an oyster can create a domino effect on local bodies of water, crustacean and fish species that share that environment, and sometimes even affect human health. This lecture will focus on the importance of oysters, diseases of oysters, and how a changing climate might impact the health of oysters and other bivalve species.

About the Speaker

Dr. Susan Laramore's focus for the past ten years has been on aquacultured animals, with emphasis on health issues associated with crustaceans and bivalves. Her research has focused on evaluating reproductive effort of both natural and cultured populations of bivalves, parasitic diseases of both natural and cultured bivalves, and viral diseases of cultured crustaceans. In addition to research, she runs the Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory that provides diagnostic services to clam, oyster, and shrimp farmers in the southeastern region of the U.S. Susan also oversees the Aquaculture education program at Indian River State College and is a lead teacher.

According to Susan, working at HBOI is great because of the variety of activities she is involved in. Whether the day is spent collecting samples out in the field, working in the lab, teaching, crunching data, or issuing certificates to local farmers, working at HBOI is never boring!

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