WG2 CephsInAction meets EAFP

September 10-11, 2015

FA1301 COST Action Working Group 2 (Stress and Diseases) will join the 17th International Conference on Diseases of Fish and Shellfish. The EAFP Conference will be held in Alfredo Krauss Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, from 7 to 11 September 2015.

The participation of members of FA1301 COST Action to the EAFP2015 Conference will i. facilitate networking between FA1301 ‘science’ and compatible/complementary scientific endeavors, ii. allow beneficial interaction with other aspects of compatible disciplines and research done in other taxa, iii. extend the potential of research efforts on biology and welfare of cephalopods.

Organized by the European Association of Fish Pathologists, EAFP conference is a key event for the scientific community working on topics related with pathologies affecting the main marine animal taxa. Selected members of the FA1301 WG2 will convene, together with representatives of other CephsInAction Working Groups (WG1, WG4, WG5), and contribute to the EAFP2015 main program with a dedicated symposium (September 10). Posters presentations will be also delivered during the main EAFP2015 Program.

The FA1301 WG2 meeting will occur as satellite event to EAFP2015 Conference on Friday 11 September 2015

WG2 CephsInAction meets EAFP2015 will synthesize and analyze the available knowledge on cephalopod biology and physiology in relation to animal welfare.

For details see also the program on EAFP website and the detailed program

WG2 CephsInAction meets EAFP2015 will synthesize and analyze the currently available knowledge on cephalopod biology, physiology in relation to welfare. In brief, this COST Action FA1301 WG2 meeting is aimed to:

1. Discuss about evaluating the environmental, biological and behavioral needs of different cephalopod species to increase success of caring, maintenance  growth and rearing . This with the ultimate goal to reduce stress and increase welfare in laboratory-research and aquaculture establishments.
2. Increase the knowledge of biological and physiological indicators (e.g. biomarkers) of welfare for cephalopods, also by increasing the use of alternatives to live animals in research, and the use of non-invasive approaches.
3. Increase of knowledge and identification of pathogens, mechanical damages, signs of stress and diseases in cephalopods.
4. Study of the trophic relationship for cephalopods, with special attention to the transmission of parasites, thus allowing evaluation of animals well-being and ecosystem health.

Focus will be also given to i. the development and sharing of protocols for assessment of health status of cephalopods, thus providing guidance for researchers, veterinarians and regulators; ii. contribute to the development of noninvasive/automated techniques for assessing physiological status of cephalopods; iii. the development of online databases as guidance and inventory of alternatives.

During the meeting discussions will be also facilitated to achieve a better Coordination of Nationally Funded Research Efforts, in compliance with the the aims of the COST Actions, and to coordinate a series of multi-author publications that will help to disseminate the current achievements of the FA1301 community.

CephsInAction WG2 meets EAFP2015 – Cephalopods immunity and pathology

C. Gestal, S. Culloty, chairs

11.15 – 11.30 A network for improvement of cephalopod welfare and husbandry in research, aquaculture and fisheries – COST Action FA1301, CephsInAction – G. Ponte, C. Gestal, S. Culloty, D. Osorio   

11:30 – 11:45 Parasites and diseases of worldwide cephalopods: an update – P. Tedesco, A. Terlizzi, G. Fiorito

11:45 – 12:00 Implementation of a ‘Disease Database’ for cephalopods – V. Galligioni, C. Gestal, P. Tedesco, G. Fiorito

12:00 – 12:15 Selection of reliable reference genes for normalization of gene expression in paralarvae of Octopus vulgaris during development and after immune stimulation – P. García-Fernández, S. Castellanos-Martínez, J. Iglesias, J.J. Otero, C. Gestal

12:15 – 12:30 Ultrastructural and molecular characterization of Aggregata spp (Frenzel, 1885) in Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797) from Central Mediterranean – P. Tedesco, C. Gestal, A. Terlizzi, G. Fiorito

12:30 – 12:45 Recent advances at functional and molecular level of the interaction between the cellular innate immunity of the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, and the coccidia Aggregata octopiana – S. Castellanos-Martinez, C. Gestal

12:45 – 13:00 Controlled noise exposure experiments on cephalopods – M. Solé, M. Lenoir, M. Durfort, M. López-Bejar, A. Lombarte, M. André

CephsInAction WG2 meets EAFP2015 – WG2 meeting day

09.00 – 9.10 Welcome and introduction – C. Gestal, G. Ponte

09.10 – 10.00 COST FA1301 Working Group 2: state-of-art and forecasted initiatives, an introduction – C. Gestal

10.00 – 13.00 CephsInAction WG2 Scientific Contributions and extending the Network – S. Culloty, chair   

10:00 – 10:20 EU Project Parasite and Biobank – I. Mladineo

10:20 – 10:40 Health status survey and immunostimulation techniques in marine molluscs – S. Culloty, L. Sharon

10:40 – 11:00 Non-invasive biomarkers in fish – B. Costas

Coffee break

11:20 – 11:40 Beaks for age estimation and stress recording in cephalopods – C. Perales-Raya

11:40 – 12:00 Haemocytes isolation and culture: a comparative overview of methods – G. Ponte

12:00 – 12:20 Prenatal stressors and their influence on behavioral development: ‘experimental evidences’ – G. Fiorito

12:20 – 12:40 Identification of biomarkers by gene expression and epigenetic regulation in paralarvae of O. vulgaris – María Prado

12:20 – 12:40 Cephalopod research in Mexico, a WG2 perspective – S. Castellanos-Martínez

Lunch

14.30 – 15.10 COST Action FA1301 – 2014 STSM Projects – G. Ponte, chair

14:30 – 14:50 Octopus vulgaris immune response at gene expression level by in vitro immuno-stimulation of hemocytes – M. Petric (presentation delivered by STSM Host researcher)

14:50 – 15:10 Space as Requirement for Welfare: Effect of Confinement on Stress and Immune Response in the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris – J. Estefanell
            
            
15.10 – 16.30 Sharing Tools and Plans for the future – a Roundtable

            Topics to be discussed (not comprehensive list): Requirements of coordination of research efforts towards the achievements of the FA1301-WG2 goals; Contributions of participants on protocols and data sharing. Further focus on: Diseases and pathogens, Biomarkers, Data collection, Databases and other WG2 and WG4 initiatives

            Working around WG2 deliverables (Atlas of diseases of pathogens and diseases of cephalopods; CephsInAction Data Repository)
            
            
16:30 – 17:00 Summary and future actions

Revealing the identity of cestodes infecting the red octopus, Octopus maya Voss & Solis 1966, from Yucatan, Mexico – S. Castellanos-Martinez, M.L. Aguirre-Macedo

Morphological characterization of dicyemid mesozoans (Phylum Dicyemida) of Octopus maya Voss & Solis 1966, from Yucatan, Mexico – S. Castellanos-Martinez, L. Aguirre-Macedo

Diferential expression of Octopus vulgaris immune genes in response to the gastrointestinal coccidia, Aggregata octopiana, infection – S. Castellanos-Martínez, C. Gestal

Immune response of common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, following bacterial infection – S. Castellanos-Martínez, C. Gestal

Phylogeny and q-pcr detection of Aggregata octopiana (Aggregatidae, Apicomplexa) parasitising digestive tissues of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) from the Adriatic Sea – K. Begić, M. Petrić, I. Mladineo

Potential limiting factors to the growth of Octopus vulgaris – P. Tedesco, E. Baldascino, G. De Martino, G. Fiorito