Global Warming's Effect On Marine Prokaryotes

The consumption of raw oysters has been a delight enjoyed by many for decades. Raw bars have been all the rage and highlighted in food magazines such as Bon Appetite, Travel & Leisure to name a few. Shellfish growers had to double oyster production in the last four years as a result of the increased demand for raw oysters. Despite this high demand for fresh oysters, changes are occurring that are effecting this beloved delicacy. Global warming has had an impact on oceans all over the world. The impact of human activity and the emission of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is linked to global warming. Sea surface temperatures have steadily had increases up to about 1.5 degrees Celsius over the past 54 years. Climate change continues

Prokaryotes are by far, the largest number of all living organisms in oceans around the globe and they play an important role in maintaining life on earth. A link between the variability of the temperate North Atlantic and the presence as well as the spread of a specific group of prokaryotes known as the vibrios is responsible for a multitude of infections in humans as well as animals. “Such increases has been associated with an unprecedented occurrence of environmentally acquired Vibrio infections in the population of Northern Europe as well as the Atlantic coast along the United States in recent years” (Vezzulli, Grande, Reid…Pruzzo, 2016). Vibrios is a gram negative bacterium that affects humans and is in the same family as cholera. It is one of the biggest portion of marine picoplankton that includes “more than 110 recognized species of which many are known human and animal pathogens” (Vezzulli, Grande, Reid…Pruzzo, 2016). It is commonly found in warm waters along the coast. “In eight out of nine regions of the North Atlantic, a study found that as temperatures warmed, numbers of vibrio bacteria also

This bacterium can cause infection from consuming raw seafood, particularly oysters. Oysters are classified as a filter feeder and they filter small particles and organisms from the water that surrounds them and they typically filter roughly 20 to 100 liters of water a day. This method of feeding can lead to high concentrations of Vibrio and as a result, the oyster becomes colonized with the bacterium and thus serves as a vehicle for the transmission of vibrios bacteria. Vibrio vulnificus is the most common species responsible for the majority of mortalities of all the species of vibrio throughout the world and the incidence of illness from this bacterium is increasing worldwide. “The highest density of Vibrios vulnificus has been reported in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico, which has an overall higher mean water temperature compared with other coastal waters in the United States” (Daniels, 2011). Vibrio infections have also been linked to an increase in mass fatalities in marine