An investigation of the x-cell disease in Pagothenia borchgrevinki fish in McMurdo Sound with measurements of condition factor, gut contents, internal organ status and analysis of tissue samples

The distribution of x-cell disease in Pagothenia borchgrevinki fish in McMurdo Sound and the effects of the disease on the fish was investigated. A series of linear transects were samples close to Scott Base on the eastern side of McMurdo Sound (3) and on the western side of the sound (2) to sample for fish in order to locate different schools of fish. Fish that were captured were weighed and measured and then checked for x-cell disease, condition factor, gut content analysis, status of their internal organs and tissues were preserved for later analysis to determine the effects of the disease on the fish. Otoliths were removed from the cranial cavity to determine the age of each fish examined and tissue was preserved for electron microscope work. An experiment was planned to examine the effects of the disease on the fish over time with both healthy and diseased fish caught and placed in aquariums for the whole summer to look at the effects of time on aspects of the disease.