Ecological consequences of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Heres, Melissa M.; Farmer, Benjamin; Elmer, Franziska; Hertler, Heidi

doi:10.1007/s00338-021-02071-4

Cited by 49 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Caribbean coral reefs face a number of threats, and SCTLD adds to a large list of coral diseases that have been identified as a major threat in the region (Weil, 2004). However, the impact of SCTLD is greater than most other diseases because it affects more species and has a greater prevalence than other diseases for vulnerable coral species, potentially resulting in a rapid ecological shift and a major degradation of Caribbean reefs (Heres et al, 2021). Our study supports this assertion, suggesting that the outbreak of SCTLD in Grand Bahama and New Providence is a rapid and serious threat to populations of many coral species at local scales.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreaks in The Bahamas

Dahlgren¹,

Pizarro²,

Sherman³

et al. 2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coral reefs of Grand Bahama and New Providence islands in The Bahamas have been surveyed several times over the past decade, and long-term monitoring indicates declines in coral cover associated with hurricanes, bleaching events, and local threats. However, the greatest declines in coral populations in The Bahamas over the past decade may be attributed to the recent introduction of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). In 2019, a comprehensive assessment of both islands was conducted using Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) methods to characterize reefs before SCTLD was reported in The Bahamas. Following reports of SCTLD in late 2019, timed roving diver assessments of corals were conducted for Grand Bahama in March 2020 and New Providence in June 2020 to determine which species were affected by the disease and the proportion of corals that were healthy, infected with SCTLD, and those that appeared to have experienced recent mortality for the most abundant intermediate or highly susceptible species. Additional surveys were conducted for both islands in January 2021 to further assess the extent of the outbreak, and repeated assessments of several sites for each island were used to determine the impact of the disease on corals over the previous 6.5 to 10.5 months. Infection rates varied among species following patterns described for Florida and elsewhere, with higher infection rates occurring in vulnerable species for both Grand Bahama and New Providence. Pseudodiploria strigosa appears to be the most affected species with 45.6% of colonies on Grand Bahama infected and 23.1% infected on New Providence and recent mortality rates of 31.5 and 42.7%, respectively, at the time of surveys. Spatial patterns of mortality and infection rates for the most vulnerable species were greatest close to international commercial shipping ports on both islands, suggesting SCTLD has been present in those locations for a longer time, and the proportion of healthy colonies increased with distance from the port. For Grand Bahama, there was also a significant effect of depth, with shallow reefs having a higher proportion of colonies that was infected or experienced recent mortality. For New Providence, sites to the east of the port saw a sharp decline in infection and mortality rates with distance compared to sites west of the port, where nearly the entire coastline was affected by SCTLD. Temporal analyses showed an increase in recent mortality and a decrease in active infection for most species on both islands, but little change in the proportion of healthy corals, suggesting some degree of resistance to the disease. Because Freeport and Nassau are the two largest container ports in The Bahamas and are over 200 km apart with multiple islands between them where SCTLD has not yet been reported, it is probable that SCTLD arrived in The Bahamas via commercial shipping, followed by rapid spread within islands via local currents and other vectors. Results from this study stress the need for early detection and suggest that preventing the spread of the disease between islands via vessel traffic is of utmost importance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreaks in The Bahamas

Dahlgren¹,

Pizarro²,

Sherman³

et al. 2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mortality rates are high, resulting in extensive loss of colonies (Precht et al, 2016) and localized near-extinction of highly susceptible species (Neely et al, 2021). Coral cover, species diversity, and colony density have all declined significantly in affected areas (Walton et al, 2018;Alvarez-Filip et al, 2019;Heres et al, 2021). Given the threat presented by SCTLD to Caribbean reefs, unprecedented actions have been taken to understand and mitigate this disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short- and Long-Term Effectiveness of Coral Disease Treatments

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has led to large-scale mortality of over 20 coral species throughout the Florida Reef Tract. In 2019, in-water disease intervention strategies were implemented to treat affected corals. Two treatment strategies were employed: (1) topical application of an amoxicillin paste directly to disease margins, and (2) application of a chlorinated epoxy to disease margins as well as an adjacent “disease break” trench. Effectiveness of treatments on 2,379 lesions from 725 corals representing five species was evaluated using mixed effects logistic regression models which demonstrated substantially greater effectiveness of amoxicillin compared to chlorine-treated lesions across all species up to 3 months post-treatment. As a result of the failed chlorinated epoxy treatments, any new lesions that appeared during subsequent monitoring events were treated with amoxicillin paste, and all corals were monitored and treated as needed approximately every 2 months for up to 24 months. The health status of 1664 amoxicillin-treated corals during each monitoring event was used to model the probability of a coral being uninfected over time. Models included species and geographic regions as variables. The appearance of new lesions (reinfection rates) varied by species, and offshore sites showed greater reinfection rates than inshore sites; however, all sites and species exhibited a decreased probability of reinfection with time since initial treatment. We conclude that topical amoxicillin treatments are highly effective at halting SCTLD lesions and that through initial and follow-up treatments as needed, colonies and reef sites will progress toward a lower prevalence of SCTLD.

show abstract

“…A recent devastating disease outbreak, termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) originated in southeast Florida (Precht et al, 2016;Walton et al, 2018) and has spread to the Florida Keys and other areas in the Caribbean (Alvarez-Filip et al, 2019;Weil et al, 2019). SCTLD has affected at least 24 coral species and resulted in very high levels of mortality between initial onset in 2014 and the present (Precht et al, 2016;Walton et al, 2018;Estrada-Saldívar et al, 2020;Heres et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated ex situ Spawning in Two Highly Disease Susceptible Corals in the Family Meandrinidae

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Members of the family Meandrinidae are highly susceptible to stony coral tissue loss disease, resulting in population reductions up to 88% in both Dendrogyra cylindrus and Meandrina meandrites along the Florida Reef Tract. Reductions in abundance on this scale leave these species susceptible to limitations in sexual reproduction and natural recovery without intervention. In response to the ongoing outbreak of the disease across the Caribbean, a variety of genetic rescue projects have been implemented to bring disease susceptible species into ex situ culture and preserve living genetic diversity. In this study, corals being held in a long-term ex situ genetic bank were maintained using artificial lighting and temperature cues programmed to mimic natural cycles in Key Largo, FL, United States. Synchronized broadcast spawning events in both species were documented in aquaria over two annual spawning cycles in 2019 and 2020. Timing of gamete release relative to the perceived date and sunset was highly synchronized with wild observations. Up to 21 unique D. cylindrus genotypes collected from reef locations spanning over 230 km contributed gametes to the larval pool. The majority of these parental colonies are no longer alive in the wild. Repeatable and predictable ex situ spawning events such as these will become an essential tool for managed breeding and assisted fertilization in species suffering from severe population declines. These annual events have the potential to produce thousands of genetically diverse offspring for restoration efforts and offer future hope for the long-term survival of these threatened species.

show abstract

Ecological consequences of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Cited by 49 publications

References 62 publications

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreaks in The Bahamas

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreaks in The Bahamas

Short- and Long-Term Effectiveness of Coral Disease Treatments

Repeated ex situ Spawning in Two Highly Disease Susceptible Corals in the Family Meandrinidae

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About