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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FIGO000008/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- Reports of coral disease outbreaks have increased in recent decades, but often few details are known about these outbreaks, such as environmental triggers, associated biological variables, or even the precise temporal span of the outbreak. Here we document an acute outbreak of a rapid tissue loss disease on the highest live coral cover (15%–30%) reefs within Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA. This disease exhibited similar signs to white plague disease with the notable exception that a white film often was observed on the recently denuded skeleton. The temporal span of the disease was short (<2 mo). Partial mortality was recorded but there was no detectable impact to overall coral cover. A significant increase and then decrease in the cover of macroalgae, primarily of the genus Dictyota, occurred simultaneously with the increase and drop in disease lesion density (number of lesions per living tissue area), respectively. No other anomalous biological or physical factors (e.g., unusual temperature, turbidity, passage of storms) corresponded with the outbreak, although it is likely that some environmental anomaly that was undetectable with the methods employed favored both disease and Dictyota expansion. This is the first study to associate a rapid increase in a macroalgal population with a coral disease outbreak. We highlight the need for increased study of the initiation of such outbreaks in the Caribbean.
- Citation/Reference:
- Brandt M.E, B.I. Ruttenberg, R. Waara, J. Miller, B. Witcher, A.J. Estep, and M. Patterson. 2012. Dynamics of an acute coral disease outbreak associated with the macroalgae Dictyota spp. in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA. Bulletin of Marine Science 88 (4). University of Miami - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Added automatically
- Holding Location:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Copyrighted, Distribute for Non-Commercial Use - Known to contain copyrighted information. Public distribution allowed for non-commercial use. Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the users responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
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