Multifocal bleaching of Millepora dichotoma in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), Red Sea

Zvuloni, Assaf; Armoza-Zvuloni, Rachel; Shaked, Yeala

doi:10.3354/meps09369

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…After that, and until the end of the experiment (Day 10), many more spots appeared, but only on the corals that were placed with the blenny. The spots were identical to those observed in situ (Zvuloni et al 2011). Four acts of biting by E. brevis followed by immediate appearance of bleached spots were documented by video (www.int-res.com/ articles/ suppl/ m463p301_supp/).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

“…In February 2012 (before receiving Carlson's Comment) we re-surveyed the prevalence of MFB in a follow-up study to Zvuloni et al (2011). Then, following Carlson's Comment, we adopted 3 approaches for verifying his suggestion:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since February 2010 we have observed a sudden widespread emergence of circular white spots on many Millepora dichotoma colonies in the Gulf of Aqaba (see Zvuloni et al 2011). Following the framework provided by Work & Aeby (2006) to systematically describe and name diseases in corals, this peculiar pattern in which colonies seem to lose their symbiotic algae in discrete focal points was termed Multifocal Bleaching (MFB).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carlson and A.Z. Based on his observations at Hawaiian coral reefs, Carlson (2012, this volume) suggests that bites by the blenny Exallias brevis are the cause of the bleached spots (MFB) observed on Millepora dichotoma in the Red Sea by Zvuloni et al (2011;see their Fig. 1 and supplementary video at www.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Feeding activity by the blenny Exallias brevis causes multifocal bleaching in corals: Reply to Carlson (2012)

Zvuloni¹,

Armoza-Zvuloni²,

Shaked³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We previously reported the sudden emergence of a disease-like syndrome in which numerous circular white spots were observed in Millepora dichotoma colonies in the Gulf of Aqaba (Zvuloni et al. 2011; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 441:25−32) and termed this phenomenon Multifocal Bleaching (MFB). Carlson (2012; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 463:297−299), based on his observations from Hawaiian coral reefs, suggests that the MFB is caused through foraging by the blenny Exallias brevis. Carlson's suggestion led us to perform new field and laboratory studies to confirm or discount this possibility. We were unable to document biting of the hydrocorals by E. brevis in the field, but our aquarium experiment demonstrated that the white spots are indeed a direct result of the blenny's biting. In addition, we found a strong linkage between the presence of E. brevis and the presence of MFB in M. dichotoma colonies. We accept Carlson's suggestion, which leads to the following questions: (1) Is the sudden emergence of MFB in the Red Sea caused by a sudden surge in the population of E. brevis? (2) Has a change in environmental conditions prompted E. brevis to suddenly begin feeding on M. dichotoma? (3) What will be the long-term impact of E. brevis on populations of M. dichotoma, an important component of shallow reefs in the Red Sea?

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Feeding activity by the blenny Exallias brevis causes multifocal bleaching in corals: Reply to Carlson (2012)

Zvuloni¹,

Armoza-Zvuloni²,

Shaked³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, Zvuloni et al (2011) discovered the occurrence of unusual multifocal lesions, presumably bleaching or feeding scar patterns, on Millepora dichotoma populations, which are an important contributor to the formation of the calcareous base for reef growth along the Gulf of Eilat. In an attempt to identify the microbial community associated with the affected tissue, both culture-dependent and -independent studies were undertaken (Paramasivam et al, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Eilatimonas milleporae gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from the hydrocoral Millepora dichotoma

Nithyanand

Ben‐Dov

Arotsker

et al. 2013

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A marine bacterial strain, designated MD2T, was isolated from the damaged tissue of a hydrocoral, Millepora dichotoma, collected from the coral reef in the northern Red Sea, Gulf of Eilat, Israel. Strain MD2T was Gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped and motile, and formed small, creamy and opaque colonies, 1–2 mm in diameter, after 3 days incubation on Marine agar at 30°C. The novel strain grew well in nutrient broth at 1.5–6 % NaCl and at 20–37°C. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C17 : 1ω9c, iso-C17 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c and C17 : 1ω6c. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified lipid, two unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified glycolipids and two unidentified aminolipids. Ubiquinone Q-10 was the only respiratory lipoquinone. The DNA G+C content was 60.3 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the organism in the α-subclass of the Proteobacteria with a sequence divergence of about 9 % from any species with a validly published name. The highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (approximately 91 %) was notably with type strains of members of the genus Kordiimonas , Kordiimonas aestuarii 101-1T , Kordiimonas lacus S3-22T and Kordiimonas gwangyangensis GW14-5T. On the basis of genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic distinctness, strain MD2T represents a novel species in a new genus of the class Alphaproteobacteria , for which the name Eilatimonas milleporae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is MD2T ( = LMG 26586T = DSM 25217T).

show abstract

Bacterial Consortium of Millepora dichotoma Exhibiting Unusual Multifocal Lesion Event in the Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Colonies of the hydrocoral Millepora dichotoma along the Gulf of Eilat are exhibiting unusual tissue lesions in the form of white spots. The emergence and rapid establishment of these multifocal tissue lesions was the first of its kind reported in this region. A characterization of this morphological anomaly revealed bleached tissues with a significant presence of bacteria in the tissue lesion area. To ascertain possible differences in microbial biota between the lesion area and non-affected tissues, we characterized the bacterial diversity in the two areas of these hydrocorals. Both culture-independent (molecular) and culture-dependent assays showed a shift in bacterial community structure between the healthy and affected tissues. Several 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from the affected tissues matched sequences of bacterial clones belonging to Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes members previously associated with various diseases in scleractinian corals.

show abstract

Multifocal bleaching of Millepora dichotoma in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), Red Sea

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

Feeding activity by the blenny Exallias brevis causes multifocal bleaching in corals: Reply to Carlson (2012)

Feeding activity by the blenny Exallias brevis causes multifocal bleaching in corals: Reply to Carlson (2012)

Eilatimonas milleporae gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from the hydrocoral Millepora dichotoma

Bacterial Consortium of Millepora dichotoma Exhibiting Unusual Multifocal Lesion Event in the Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About