World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2021 13 this was very painful to many of you as well. On behalf of Don, I would like to thank the aquaculture world for all your support, kindness, knowledge and friendship throughout his career. He loved, appreciated and missed all of you very much over these past six years. On behalf of our family, thank you for embracing Don and I over the years. I will be forever grateful. Wishing you all the best. Please consider contributing to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Mayo Clinic (https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/ donateMC) or your own local Alzheimer’s Association as a tribute to Dr. Donald Lightner. —Rita Redman-Lightner Don had a unique combination of state-of-the-art skills in research, personal experience with commercial production and love of teaching. This mix enabled him to apply sound science to identify causative pathogens, recommend commercially appropriate and practical solutions for preventing and managing outbreaks, and convey information in a way that was clear and understandable. His knowledge and skills allowed him to work with simple, basic tools to achieve major breakthroughs like discovery of new diseases and development of SPF stocks. Just as Lance Armstrong said “it’s not about the bike,” Don would probably say “it’s not about the lab.” In the hands of a skilled pathologist, even a modest lab can deliver crucial advancements. This anecdote illustrates how he used simple tools to conduct world-class research. Considering all that he had accomplished, his research facilities were remarkably humble, but kept neat and clean, except for one aquarium that was totally green and not cleaned. The aquarium supported a population of algae and amphipods (tiny crustaceans) in a balanced ecosystem. His team subsequently packaged up a sealed container of the algae and amphipods and sent it to NASA, which put it on a space shuttle that went to the Mir space station. After orbiting the earth a number of times, the container was brought back to earth, sent back to Arizona and the amphipods examined histologically by Dr. Lightner’s team. They concluded that the amphipods reproduced normally in zero gravity, which has a number of far-reaching implications. He said modestly, as if anyone could turn their aquarium into a space project, “that’s why we didn’t clean the aquarium.” —George Chamberlain He was always the go-to man for an unknown cause of why shrimp die or were not performing well. Maybe he should be best remembered as the “first and foremost shrimp detective of our era” and the most critical person for lifting shrimp farming from a total casino to what is shaping up to be a science-based industry. When I had a problem that could not be explained by management, I never called a ghostbuster — I called Dr. Lightner “the shrimp pathogen buster” and he never let me down. A pure genius with a microscope in what he could find and later on a genius in learning to translate those observations to state-of-the-art diagnostics. —Robins McIntosh A reserved person with a keen sense of observation. He transformed infectious disease research in shrimp with a simple microscope and his extraordinary ability to study diseases at an organismal level. His early career days working with shrimp industry professionals enabled him to realize the translational value of his ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 4 ) His teaching on the subject has prepared the scientific base that has allowed shrimp farmers worldwide to cope with the continual disease issues faced by the industry. As a result of his research and teaching, hundreds of diagnostic facilities have been established around the world, which has greatly reduced epidemic disease losses. By 1993, the Aquaculture Pathology Lab became a Reference Laboratory for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The Lab was also certified by the USDA and has provided diagnostic service to the global industry, accepting hundreds of samples per year. As part of that history, the Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory has archived case reports of shrimp disease sample workups by Dr. Lightner and his colleagues since the 1970s. These tens of thousands of cases provide the most complete record available for epidemiology of shrimp diseases. Creation of Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) shrimp stocks has been possibly the single most important technological advance in shrimp farming history. As a crucial teammember of the USMarine Shrimp Farming Consortium, Dr. Lightner provided guidance in developing protocols for the creation of the very first SPF stocks of Pacific white shrimp, supported by the analytical capacity to screen for virus-free stocks. The shrimp stocks that came out of this program under the guidance of Dr. Lightner provide the basis for most of shrimp farming today, whether it be directly from those stocks he developed or that others developed using his methods and techniques. Without SPF stocks, the shrimp industry would not be successful today. The application of genetics to shrimp breeding that plays such an important role in reducing costs of shrimp production would not have been possible without a SPF shrimp population. With the development and distribution of SPF shrimp stocks, world production jumped from 1.0 million tons in 2000 to 3.5 million tons in 2010. This incredible story would not have happened without the contributions of Dr. Lightner. EDITOR: This tribute was compiled and prepared by George Chamberlain, Robins McIntosh, Arun Dhar and Kevin Fitzsimmons. Dr. Lightner received the Honorary Life Award from the World Aquaculture Society in 2007, the highest honor bestowed by the Society. Here are some quotes from different people around the world: I would like to thank the World Aquaculture magazine for the opportunity to share some memories of my husband and boss of 43 years, Dr. Donald Lightner. First, my memory of howmuch he cared for the people that were on the Aquaculture Pathology Lab (APL) research teamwill always be forefront. The APL teamwas part of his “family” and the efforts he put forth to keep everyone funded year-over-year were admirable. Without the expertise of the APL team, the lab would not have been as successful as it was. Don loved teaching and mentoring, and he was good at it. His contributions of knowledge and expertise were of great benefit to the world of aquaculture. I am proud to look back at our careers and remember the impact Don and his teammade. His love of travel and all the people that he met along the way was exciting to him. Don’s work was his life. His diagnosis of dementia was sudden, and the realization that he needed to retire was devastating to him. Don’s form of dementia left him non-verbal so he was not able to keep in contact with those who had become so dear to him over the years. I imagine