Great Lakes Center Seminar:

“Parasites and other endosymbionts of zebra and quagga mussels: What is their significance?”

by Daniel Molloy, PhD
Want to predict what one might find living inside a zebra or quagga mussel? Since there is a big difference in what one can find living inside these mussels in Europe versus North America, the first question one should ask is on which continent was the mussel collected. In contrast to the lack of infection in North American populations, European mussels harbor a wide diversity of organisms inside their body cavities and tissues. These endosymbionts range from microbes to the metazoans, from benign commensals to lethal parasites, and from highly host specific to generalist invaders. The impact of endosymbiont infections on the population dynamics of mussels as well as how endosymbiont data can be used to test theories of invasion biology and evolution will be discussed.

Thursday, April 3, 2008
12:15 p.m.
Science Building 272

Students, staff and faculty welcome. Refreshments will be served.
Great Lakes Center Seminar made possible through the Gretchen Stevenson Scholarship Fund.