Urosalpinx cinerea, common name the eastern oyster drill or Atlantic oyster drill, is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murexes or rock snails. They use chemoreception in their environment and are found to be sessile and encrusting organisms. Microscopic particles released by prey are carried through the sea water and captured by the Atlantic Oyster Drill. This animal is not physically able to close itself from its surrounding environment because of its siphonal canal.
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Ocenebra inornata common names the "Asian drill", the "Asian oyster drill", the "Japanese oyster drill" and the "Japanese oyster borer", is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. This species is native to Asia (Japan and Korea), but it has become a notorious introduced pest species in oyster beds in the western USA and Europe.
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A commercial oyster cultivating industry was present from 1930-1957; however, the accidental introduction of the Japanese oyster drill led to the collapse of this industry in 1957.
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The Japanese oyster drill (Ocenebra inornata), flatworm (Koinostylochus ostreophagus), and parasitic copepod (Mytilicola orientalis) have been introduced accidentally to aquaculture areas, and have had serious impacts on oyster production, particularly in British Columbia and Europe.
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They are also affected by a parasitic red worm (which lives in their anus), the Japanese oyster drill, the slipper shell (which competes for space and food), and shrimp. The ghost shrimp and blue shrimp stir up sediment that can smother the oysters.
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The Atlantic Oyster Drill finds its food by smell. They are found to be more responsive to living prey than to prey that has been killed recently in a lab. But there is still no preference when it comes to the prey species or age. Just like any other animal, ecological factors affect the growth of an individual.
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Their shell must be crushed in order to see the genitalia using a microscope. Although some females possess a small vestigial formation that may look like a penis, other parts are used to confirm the sex. Finding the egg capsule gland, ovary, and any sperm ingesting glands make it easier to identify the oyster drill as a female.
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Through feeding behaviors such as attacking the margin or lip of shells where defenses are weakest, Stramonita haemastoma insert its proboscid between the valves injecting proteolytic enzymes and a toxin that causes bivalves to gape.Watanabe, J.T. & Young, C.M. 2006. Feeding habits and phenotypic changes in proboscis length in the southern oyster drill, Stramonita haemastoma (Gastropoda: Muricidae), on Florida sabellariid worm reefs. Marine biology, 148:1021-1029.
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Oyster predators include starfish, oyster drill snails, stingrays, Florida stone crabs, birds, such as oystercatchers and gulls, and humans. Pathogens that can affect either farmed C. virginica or C. gigas oysters include Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) and Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX). However, C. virginica are much more susceptible to Dermo or MSX infections than are the C. gigas species of oyster. Pathogens of O. edulis oysters include Marteilia refringens and Bonamia ostreae.
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The re-establishment of the population is currently threatened by the invasive Japanese oyster drill Ocenebra inornata. This species preys on the oysters by drilling a hole between the two valves and digesting the oyster's tissues. O. inorata is a threat to the oyster especially in areas with low populations of the mussel Mytilus. The Nature Conservancy of Oregon also has an ongoing restoration project at Netarts Bay, Oregon.
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The type of food, amount of food, and the amount of time given for a species to grow are all important factors. Chloride and sodium, inorganic ions, are some of the major effectors of blood in marine and estuarine invertebrates, including the Atlantic oyster drill. They range in size, but male and female oyster drills average 24 millimeters and 28 millimeters, respectively. Not only are females longer, but they are also taller than their males.
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Ocenebra erinaceus, common name the European sting winkle, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex and rock snails. Also known as the Oyster Drill, it is a pest in Oyster beds. The name Ocenebra erinaceus is the accepted name according to the database World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS),WoRMS : Ocenebra erinaceus and the name is also accepted as valid by the ICZN (Op. 886) Backeljau, T. (1986).
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Subsequent field surveys in 1979 and 1992 did not find any Olympia oysters within the bay. Potential factors preventing population recovery post fishery collapse include: habitat degradation, sedimentation by increased motorized boat use, suffocation by burrowing shrimp, pollution, predation by invasive Japanese oyster drill and parasitism by non-native flat worm After their 1992 survey, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began a large scale restoration attempt in Netarts, setting out 9 million spat between 1993-1998. Olympia oyster populations did not return to historical levels, but surveys in 2004 detected low populations of transplanted oysters in the bay. Anecdotal observations from residents also suggest small pockets of naturally occurring oysters subsist in the southwest corner of the bay.
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