scholarly journals An emerging coral disease outbreak decimated Caribbean coral populations and reshaped reef functionality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip ◽  
F. González-Barrios ◽  
Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes ◽  
Ana Molina-Hernandez ◽  
Nuria Estrada-Saldívar
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Coral Abundance ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Physical Functionality

Abstract Diseases are major drivers of the deterioration of coral reefs, linked to major declines in coral abundance, reef functionality, and reef-related ecosystems services1-3. An outbreak of a new disease is currently rampaging through the populations of the remaining reef-building corals across the Caribbean region. The outbreak was first reported in Florida in 2014 and reached the northern Mesoamerican reef by summer 2018, where it spread across the ~ 450-km reef system only in a few months4. Rapid infection was generalized across all sites and mortality rates ranged from 94% to < 10% among the 21 afflicted coral species. This single event further modified the coral communities across the region by increasing the relative dominance of weedy corals and reducing reef functionality, both in terms of functional diversity and calcium carbonate production. This emergent disease is likely to become the most lethal disturbance ever recorded in the Caribbean, and it will likely result in the onset of a new functional regime where key reef-building and complex branching acroporids (a genus apparently unaffected) will once again become conspicuous structural features in reef systems with yet even lower levels of physical functionality.

scholarly journals Microbial dysbiosis reflects disease resistance in diverse coral species

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. MacKnight ◽  
Kathryn Cobleigh ◽  
Danielle Lasseigne ◽  
Andia Chaves-Fonnegra ◽  
Alexandra Gutting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Susceptibility ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Microbial Dysbiosis ◽  
White Plague ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
Microbial Responses ◽  
Coral Communities

AbstractDisease outbreaks have caused significant declines of keystone coral species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on environmental factors has progressed, we still lack a comparative understanding of susceptibility among coral species that would help predict disease impacts on coral communities. The present study compared the phenotypic and microbial responses of seven Caribbean coral species with diverse life-history strategies after exposure to white plague disease. Disease incidence and lesion progression rates were evaluated over a seven-day exposure. Coral microbiomes were sampled after lesion appearance or at the end of the experiment if no disease signs appeared. A spectrum of disease susceptibility was observed among the coral species that corresponded to microbial dysbiosis. This dysbiosis promotes greater disease susceptiblity in coral perhaps through different tolerant thresholds for change in the microbiome. The different disease susceptibility can affect coral’s ecological function and ultimately shape reef ecosystems.

Multiple mechanisms of transmission of the Caribbean coral disease white plague

Coral Reefs ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 1179-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Clemens ◽  
M. E. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Coral Disease ◽  
White Plague ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
The Caribbean

Bacterial communities associated with the mucopolysaccharide layers of three coral species affected and unaffected with dark spots disease

2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego L. Gil-Agudelo ◽  
Diana P. Fonseca ◽  
Ernesto Weil ◽  
Jaime Garzón-Ferreira ◽  
Garriet W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Carbon Utilization ◽  
Montastraea Faveolata ◽  
Montastraea Annularis ◽  
Normal Microbiota ◽  
Utilization Patterns ◽  
The Caribbean

Dark spots disease (DSD) is a relatively new coral disease that has become one of the most prevalent afflictions in the Caribbean Sea. To partially characterize bacterial communities associated with DSD, carbon utilization patterns of bacterial strains isolated from the surface mucopolysaccharide layers of healthy and DSD-affected Montastraea annularis , Montastraea faveolata , and Siderastrea siderea were compared with each other and with bacterial strains isolated from the water column by using cluster analysis. Differences between healthy and diseased corals were found and were greatest for M. annularis than for the other species. A metabolic group of bacteria similar to Vibrio carchariae was found to be unique to diseased samples. Inoculation experiments on healthy corals did not result in the development of disease signs. However, our results support the hypothesis that stress (in this case disease) alters the normal microbiota in the coral surface mucopolysaccaride layers. Studies are continuing to determine the pathogenic agent(s) responsible for DSD.

scholarly journals The transformation of Caribbean coral communities since humans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Cramer ◽  
Mary Donovan ◽  
Jeremy Jackson ◽  
Benjamin Greenstein ◽  
Chelsea Korpanty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
Reef Coral ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Term Data

The mass die-off of Caribbean corals has transformed many of this region’s reefs to macroalgal-dominated habitats since systematic monitoring began in the 1970s. Although attributed to a combination of local and global human stressors, the lack of long-term data on Caribbean reef coral communities has prevented a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of coral declines. We integrated paleoecological, historical, and modern survey data to track the prevalence of major coral species and life history groups throughout the Caribbean from the pre-human period to present. The regional loss of Acropora corals beginning by the 1960s from local human disturbances resulted in increases in the prevalence of formerly subdominant stress-tolerant and weedy scleractinian corals and the competitive hydrozoan Millepora beginning in the 1970s and 1980s. These transformations have resulted in the homogenization of coral communities within individual countries. However, increases in stress-tolerant and weedy corals have slowed or reversed since the 1980s and 1990s in tandem with intensified coral bleaching. These patterns reveal the long history of increasingly stressful environmental conditions on Caribbean reefs that began with widespread local human disturbances and have recently culminated in the combined effects of local and global change.

scholarly journals CONDICIÓN DE ARRECIFES DE CORAL SOMETIDOS A PRESIONES NATURALES RECIENTES: BAJOS DE SANCHO PARDO, CUBA

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Hansel Caballero ◽  
Pedro M. Alcolado
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Biological Indicators ◽  
Maximum Diameter ◽  
Live Coral ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Different Levels

Se evaluó la condición de la barrera de coral de los Bajos de Sancho Pardo (NW Cuba), área alejada de acciones antrópicas (excepto sobrepesca), pero que ha sufrido un período de frecuencia de huracanes, brotes de enfermedades y eventos de blanqueamiento de corales. En agosto del 2010 se aplicó la metodología de muestreo AGRRA en comunidades de corales de tres estaciones en las crestas, tres en las zonas traseras y 15 en el frente de arrecifes. Se identificaron 32 especies de corales, considerando solo colonias mayores de 10 cm de diámetro máximo. Los indicadores biológicos analizados sugieren cierta heterogeneidad en lascondiciones medioambientales y diferentes grados de resiliencia de los corales ante los disturbios naturales. El cubrimiento vivo medio de coral fue de 23% en las crestas, 27% en las zonas traseras y 9% en los arrecifes frontales. La densidad media lineal de corales fue de 8 colonias/10 m en las crestas, 11 colonias/10 m en las zonas traseras y 5 colonias/10 m en los arrecifes frontales. Se observó mortalidad reciente por enfermedades activas. La mortalidad antigua fue mayor en las zonas traseras y en las crestas, a causa aparentementede la mayor influencia de los huracanes por la menor profundidad. Los arrecifes estuvieron perturbados por cubrimiento importante de algas carnosas supuestamente por un insuficiente nivel de herbivorismo. ABSTRACT The condition of the barrier reef in Bajos de Sancho Pardo (NW Cuba) was assessed. This area is located far from anthropogenic disturbances (except overfishing) and has suffered a period of frequent hurricanes, coral disease outbreaks, and coral bleaching events. In August 2010, the AGRRA sampling methodology was applied to 21 coral communities;three crest stations, three rear zones, and 15 fore reef stations. Thirty-two coral species were identified, considering only colonies larger than 10 cm maximum diameter. The biological indicators analyzed suggest some degree of heterogeneity of environmental conditions and different levels of coral resiliency to natural disturbances. Average live coral cover was 23% on reef crests, 27% on back reefs and 9% on fore reefs. Average coral linear density was 8 colonies/10 m on reef crests, 11 colonies/10 m on back reefs and 5 colonies/10 m on fore reefs. Recent mortality was observed resulting from active diseases. Old mortality was higher in back reefs and reef crests, apparently due to the higher influence of hurricanes due to their shallow depths. Reefs were disturbed by a significant fleshy algae cover provably due to low levels of herbivory.

Coral assemblages and physico-chemical characteristics of the Whitsunday Islands: evidence of recent community changes

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van Woesik ◽  
T. Tomascik ◽  
S. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Scleractinian Coral ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Coral Recruitment ◽  
Coral Abundance ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
River Mouths ◽  
Negative Relationships

Benthic communities were assessed and 22 environmental variables were monitored at seven leeward localities (L1ŒL7) in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia. L1 was near the Proserpine and O’Connell river mouths and L7 ~80 km north of the river mouths. Distinct physico Œchemical and biological gradients were evident. Sparse scleractinian coral communities, dominated by faviids, Montipora spp. and encrusting Porites colonies, were present at L1, L2 and L3, whereas diverse reef-building communities, dominated by Acropora spp., were more common at and beyond L4. The number of coral recruits (age <6 months) did not differ significantly among localities, suggesting that coral recruitment was near random and that the environment shapes the adult community from those recruits. The study demonstrates strong negative relationships between chlorophyll a and the following: percentage coral cover, coral species richness and coral abundance. The reef-building capacities of the coral communities and the extent of Holocene reef development were inconsistent at L2 and L3, which is interpreted as a sign of anthropogenic effects.

scholarly journals Shallow Water Stony Corals (Scleractinia, Milleporidae, and Stylasteridae) from Utila and Cayos Cochinos, Honduras

ISRN Zoology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Scaps ◽  
James Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Scleractinian Coral ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
New Records ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Stony Corals ◽  
Western Caribbean ◽  
The Caribbean

The coral reefs of Utila and Cayos Cochinos located in the western Caribbean region (Honduras) were studied in Summer 2010 in order to acquire information concerning their richness in stony corals (Scleractinia, Milleporidae, and Stylasteridae) down to 18 m depth. Ten sites in each location were visually surveyed. Fourty-six species and 12 forms of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals belonging to 21 genera were observed at Utila and 44 species and 12 forms belonging to 20 genera at Cayos Cochinos. At each site, 3 species of milleporids and one species of Stylaster (S. roseus) were also observed. Four forms of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals were new records from Honduras. Up to now, 53 species of scleractinian corals have been identified within the whole Honduran Caribbean coast. They belong to 24 genera. This number represents approximately 93% of all scleractinian coral species reported for the Caribbean.

Structural features and oil-and-gas bearing of the Caribbean region

Oceanology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 723-737
Author(s):  
A. Zabanbark ◽  
L. I. Lobkovsky
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Gas Bearing

African Caribbean Residents of Edinburgh in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Williams
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
African Caribbean ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries

Scotland is gradually coming to terms with its involvement in slavery and colonialism as part of the British Empire. This article places the spotlight on the lives of African Caribbean people who were residents of Edinburgh during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I discuss their varied experiences and contributions: from runaways and men fighting for their freedom in the Scottish courts to women working as servants in city households or marrying into Edinburgh high society. The nineteenth century saw activism among political radicals from abolitionists to anticolonialists; some of these figures studied and taught at Edinburgh University. Their stories reflect the Scottish capital’s many direct connections with the Caribbean region.

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