C. Raines Blotchy Bass Swab

Clay Raines, a USGS scientist, performing a dermal swab on a Largemouth Bass at a Bass Pro Shops retail store with a presumptive case of blotchy bass syndrome.  The collected swabs can be used to isolate DNA and RNA which can be used to identify pathogens including those associated with hyperpigmentation.  The study of blotchy bass syndrome is part of an ongoing EESC biosurveillance effort to study viruses in wild fish.