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Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay
States in the 1970s have not naturalized, presumably because the temperature is too low for reproductive success. C. ariakensis grows faster than C. virginica but has a thinner shell, which may make it more susceptible to predators such as crabs; otherwise, it should be subject to the same predation pressures as C. virginica.
Little information is presently available on parasites or diseases of C. ariakensis in its native range. Histological examinations of C. ariakensis at various institutes have found a few protozoan parasites in groups known to cause mortality in oysters, including a haplosporidian (MSX-like) and a Bonamia parasite, which was associated with mortality of C. ariakensis and was probably the same parasite that caused widespread mortalities of the European oyster. Other parasites, including a putative Rickettsiales-like organism and herpes virus, have been found worldwide in numerous marine bivalves.
