Paramoeba sp. (Amoebida, Paramoebidae) as the Possible Causative Agent of Sea Urchin Mass Mortality in Nova Scotia

An amoeba resembling Paramoeba has been cultured from tissues of diseased sea urchins. Cultures containing the amoeba produced signs of the disease when injected into the coelom of healthy urchins. Control treatments lacking the amoeba did not cause the disease. The amoeba was cultured from radial nerve fragments and seen in tissue sections from experimentally infected urchins. Cultures of the amoeba from these experimentally infected urchins reproduced the disease in healthy urchins by both injection and water-borne routes. These observations suggest involvement of Paramoeba in recent mass mortalities of sea urchins in Nova Scotia.