Amanpreet Kohli

Stock assessments of American eels (Anguilla rostrata), a commercially, recreationally, and ecologically important finfish in the Chesapeake Bay, indicate their wild population is declining. Infectious diseases have been implicated as a cause in this decline. Animals held for sale are also affected by disease with eel fishers and distributors from the region reporting up to 20% disease-associated mortality. An infectious disease prevalent in the holding facilities, and patchily distributed in the wild, is the “red” disease which is characterized by severe skin ulceration. Our preliminary results, from standard bacteriological methods and 16s rRNA sequencing, suggest bacterial agents to be associated with this condition. We have isolated species of Vibrio, Aeromonas and, Pseudomonas from the external lesions and internal blood filtering organs of the affected fish. However, little is known about the epidemiology and underlying environmental drivers of this emerging disease, or its significance to the fishery. Our future proposed work includes elucidating the environmental correlates of this disease in wild and holding systems, and experimentally quantifying the impacts of environmental stressors on disease expression. As the red disease can severely impact the eel fishery and emerging aquaculture industry in the Chesapeake Bay, there is an urgent need to better understand its role in the decline of wild populations. Our results will support effective disease mitigation and management of eel losses, both in aquaculture and wild.

Amanpreet Kohli is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Aquatic Health Sciences Department at Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Her broad interests include disease ecology, stress physiology, and ecotoxicology with a focus on science education and outreach. Her research is focused on an emerging infectious disease of American eels in the Chesapeake Bay. She holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology, an M.Sc. in Environmental Studies, and an M.S. in Biology.