The Influence of Foureye Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) and Symbiodiniaceae on the Transmission of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

Titus, Kara; O’Connell, Lauren M.; Matthee, Kristiaan; Childress, Michael J.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.800423

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Although the etiological agent(s) responsible for SCTLD is (are) still unknown, various studies have suggested multiple vectors of transmission. Laboratory studies have demonstrated rapid and successful transmission via direct contact with a diseased colony (Aeby et al, 2019;Eaton et al, 2021;Titus et al, 2022), tank water shared with a diseased colony (Aeby et al, 2019;Aeby et al, 2021;Meiling et al, 2021), and indirect exposure to sediment that has contacted a diseased colony (Studivan et al, 2022b). All three modes (direct contact, waterborne, and sediment) are successful in intraand inter-species SCTLD transmission experiments, though varying levels of susceptibility are reported as discussed above (Aeby et al, 2019;Eaton et al, 2021;Meiling et al, 2021;Studivan et al, 2022b).…”

Section: Sctld Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, various lab-based SCTLD assays and molecular-based studies show significant involvement of the Symbiodiniaceae (Deutsch et al, 2021;Meiling et al, 2021;Titus et al, 2022;Williamson et al, 2022;Beavers et al, 2023). Notably, Beavers et al (2023) found increased expression of rab7, a known marker of Symbiodiniaceae degradation.…”

Section: Sctld Causes Symbiodiniaceaehost Disruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in an ex-situ experiment, Titus et al (2022) found no strong feeding preference between diseased and apparently healthy colonies. These feeding preferences may explain the negligible effects of the butterflyfish on disease transmission rates (Titus et al, 2022). The rapid transmission of SCTLD is likely explained by other modes of transmission and may be more influenced by the large number of highly susceptible species.…”

Section: Sctld Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stony coral tissue loss disease: a review of emergence, impacts, etiology, diagnostics, and intervention

Papke,

Carreiro,

Dennison

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is destructive and poses a significant threat to Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. Characterized by the acute loss of coral tissue, SCTLD has impacted over 22 stony coral species across the Caribbean region, leading to visible declines in reef health. Based on the duration, lethality, host range, and spread of this disease, SCTLD is considered the most devastating coral disease outbreak ever recorded. Researchers are actively investigating the cause and transmission of SCTLD, but the exact mechanisms, triggers, and etiological agent(s) remain elusive. If left unchecked, SCTLD could have profound implications for the health and resilience of coral reefs worldwide. To summarize what is known about this disease and identify potential knowledge gaps, this review provides a holistic overview of SCTLD research, including species susceptibility, disease transmission, ecological impacts, etiology, diagnostic tools, host defense mechanisms, and treatments. Additionally, future research avenues are highlighted, which are also relevant for other coral diseases. As SCTLD continues to spread, collaborative efforts are necessary to develop effective strategies for mitigating its impacts on critical coral reef ecosystems. These collaborative efforts need to include researchers from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups to provide additional perspectives for a disease that requires creative and urgent solutions.

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Section: Sctld Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sctld Causes Symbiodiniaceaehost Disruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sctld Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stony coral tissue loss disease: a review of emergence, impacts, etiology, diagnostics, and intervention

Papke,

Carreiro,

Dennison

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Meanwhile, M. capitata colonies dominated by Durusdinium had higher resistance to bleaching, but increased disease susceptibility. In a transmission experiment, M. cavernosa colonies that harbored higher abundances of Durusdinium were more susceptible to SCTLD than M. cavernosa colonies harboring Cladocopium, further suggesting that symbiont communities can play a significant role in a coral's susceptibility and resistance to SCTLD (Titus et al, 2022) Conversely, ex situ research on manipulated colonies found that corals associating predominantly with Cladocopium and Durusdinium were significantly less likely to contract SCTLD and form lesions than colonies associating predominantly with Breviolum (Dennison et al, 2021). Orbicella faveolata colonies sampled in Florida in 2015 were mostly Durusdinium dominated.…”

Section: A B Figurementioning

confidence: 96%

Algal symbiont genera but not coral host genotypes correlate to stony coral tissue loss disease susceptibility among Orbicella faveolata colonies in South Florida

Klein,

Sturm,

Eckert

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has spread throughout the entirety of Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) and across the Caribbean, impacting at least 30 coral species. The threatened hermatypic coral, Orbicella faveolata, demonstrates intraspecific variation in SCTLD affectedness with some colonies experiencing chronic disease lesions, while other nearby O. faveolata colonies appear unaffected with no disease signs over long monitoring periods. This study evaluated potential genotypic underpinnings of variable disease responses to SCTLD by monitoring and sampling 90 O. faveolata colonies from southeast Florida and the lower Florida Keys. High resolution analyses of >11,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from 2bRAD sequencing indicated there were no SNP loci or genetic lineages significantly associated with O. faveolata SCTLD affectedness. Genotypic differences may still contribute to SCTLD susceptibility; however, these differences were not captured using this reduced representation sequencing approach. Algal symbiont community structure characterized from 2bRAD data revealed that the presence of Durusdinium spp. corresponded with SCTLD-affected colonies as compared to unaffected colonies, suggesting that algal symbiont community make-up may play some role in SCTLD resistance. Data generated by this study will be combined with complementary molecular and physiological approaches to further investigate the complex drivers of intraspecific SCTLD susceptibility and resilience.

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“…Other research pointed to ballast water as a likely spreader, in which release of ballast water too close to a reef could release the contagion into the seawater of an uninfected area (Rosenau et al, 2021;Studivan et al, 2022). Even within a reef, corallivorous fish seem to preferentially feed on diseased tissue and may aid in either transmission or recovery of the disease (Noonan and Childress, 2020;Titus et al, 2022). Regardless, multiple tank-based experiments show that within weeks of residing in proximity to a diseased colony, susceptible coral species will succumb to the disease (Aeby et al, 2019;Meiling et al, 2021;Huntley et al, 2022).…”

Section: Stony Coral Tissue Loss Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Examining coral reef ecosystem dynamics using microorganisms and metabolites

Becker¹

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Microorganisms and metabolites are foundational to the success and productivity of biodiverse and economically important coral reef ecosystems and are also tightly connected. Metabolites are small organic compounds produced by reef organisms and are the chemical currencies exchanged by unicellular microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) within the seawater. Although central to reef biogeochemical cycling, we still lack fundamental information on the dynamics of these components of reefs. In this dissertation, I analyzed microorganisms in Caribbean coral reef habitats over temporal, spatial and reef health gradients as well as metabolites in a spatial reef study. In Chapter 2, I applied a rapid sequencing methodology to corals afflicted with the lethal stony coral tissue loss disease and identified specific microorganisms which were biological indicators of the disease. In Chapter 3, I investigated the dynamics of microorganisms over short temporal tidal and diurnal cycles, as well as spatially across US Virgin Island (USVI) coastal habitats. In these habitats, I found tidal cycles were driving changes in microbial communities within mangroves, but diurnal patterns were more important in reef habitats. In Chapter 4, I examined reefs over a longer temporal scale by contributing to the building of a 7-year time-series of USVI reef ecology and found that reef water microorganisms were predictive of hurricane and stony coral tissue loss disease impacts. Finally, in Chapter 5, I combined analyses of untargeted and targeted metabolomics, microbial taxa, and functional genes from metagenomics across 300 km of reefs in Florida, in addition to microorganisms in healthy and diseased corals. With this unprecedented combination of ‘omics datasets, I found that biogeographic zones, environmental features, and underlying habitat characteristics were related to microbial and metabolite features in the reef ecosystem. Further, I identified microorganisms and metabolites which were characteristic of specific reef biogeographic zones. Collectively, my work advances our understanding into the dynamics of microorganisms and metabolites in biodiverse coral reef habitats across natural temporal and spatial gradients and in the face of unprecedented stress and disturbance.

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The Influence of Foureye Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) and Symbiodiniaceae on the Transmission of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

Cited by 6 publications

References 68 publications

Stony coral tissue loss disease: a review of emergence, impacts, etiology, diagnostics, and intervention

Stony coral tissue loss disease: a review of emergence, impacts, etiology, diagnostics, and intervention

Algal symbiont genera but not coral host genotypes correlate to stony coral tissue loss disease susceptibility among Orbicella faveolata colonies in South Florida

Examining coral reef ecosystem dynamics using microorganisms and metabolites

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