ABSTRACT

Dedicated studies on aquatic disease in New Zealand began in 1974, inspired by a developing aquaculture industry. Since then, two main aquatic disease study areas have emerged: (1) aquatic disease ecology and (2) diseases of commercial species. Progress over the past 20-years has been made by only a small number of researchers and aquatic disease in New Zealand has not received much attention from the wider marine science community. In 2020, the aquaculture industry continues to grow, and disease remains a threat to the industry’s viability. However, additional factors such as climate change, invasive species, and pollution, have emerged as future threats for aquatic disease in wild and farmed populations, which are currently understudied. Here, we provide a review of studies on aquatic disease ecology and commercial species carried out in New Zealand. We also present how climate change, pollution and invasive species could influence future aquatic disease dynamics and identify where future research effort is required to address knowledge gaps. The emergence of consequential aquatic diseases overseas highlights wider attention across marine science disciplines is needed to progress and diversify aquatic disease studies in New Zealand.

摘要

受发展中的水产养殖业的启发，新西兰于 1974 年开始了对水生疾病的专门研究。从那时起，出现了两个主要的水生疾病研究领域：（1）水生疾病生态学和（2）商业物种疾病。在过去的 20 年里，只有少数研究人员取得了进展，新西兰的水生疾病并没有得到更广泛的海洋科学界的太多关注。2020年，水产养殖业继续增长，疾病仍然是对该行业生存能力的威胁。然而，气候变化、入侵物种和污染等其他因素已成为野生和养殖种群水生疾病的未来威胁，目前尚未得到充分研究。这里，我们对在新西兰进行的水生疾病生态学和商业物种的研究进行了回顾。我们还介绍了气候变化、污染和入侵物种如何影响未来的水生疾病动态，并确定未来需要在哪些方面开展研究以解决知识差距。海外继发性水生疾病的出现突显了新西兰需要在海洋科学学科中获得更广泛的关注，以推进和多样化水生疾病研究。