Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survi... more Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survival. In the last 50 years, several reefs throughout the Caribbean have been severely impacted by increased frequency and intensity of disease outbreaks leading to coral death. A recent example of this is stony coral tissue loss disease which has quickly spread throughout the Caribbean, devastating coral reef ecosystems. Emerging from these disease outbreaks has been a coordinated research response that often integrates ‘omics techniques to better understand the coral immune system. ‘Omics techniques encompass a wide range of technologies used to identify large scale gene, DNA, metabolite, and protein expression. In this review, we discuss what is known about coral immunity and coral disease from an ‘omics perspective. We reflect on the development of biomarkers and discuss ways in which coral disease experiments to test immunity can be improved. Lastly, we consider how existing data can ...
ABSTRACTStony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortali... more ABSTRACTStony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with limited concurrence of SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of SSU 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field and laboratory SCTLD studies to find consistent bacteria associated with SCTLD across disease zones (vulnerable, endemic, and epidemic), coral species, coral compartments (mucus, tissue, and skeleton), and disease states (apparently healthy colony tissue [AH], and unaffected [DU] and lesion [DL] tissue from diseased colonies). We also evaluated bacteria in seawater and sediment, which may be sources of SCTLD transmission. Although AH colonies in endemic and epidemic zones harbor bacteria associated with SCTLD lesions, and aquaria and field samples had distinct microbial compositions, there were still clear differences in the microbial composition among AH...
Depth-generalist coral holobionts inhabit shallow (0–30 m) and mesophotic (30–150 m) reef zones b... more Depth-generalist coral holobionts inhabit shallow (0–30 m) and mesophotic (30–150 m) reef zones but may exhibit genetic specialization as a result of adaptations to environmental shifts and/or due to a lack of dispersal across depth. The level of depth-dependent genetic structuring varies across reef locations which may impact the roles mesophotic populations play in the persistence and recovery of metapopulations. A depth-generalist coral species, Montastraea cavernosa, was sampled across a shallow to mesophotic gradient at 10, 15, 25, and 35 m at Alacranes and Bajos del Norte reefs on Campeche Bank, Mexico. Both 2bRAD and ITS2 sequencing were used to quantify genetic differentiation of the coral hosts and community structure of their algal endosymbionts (Family Symbiodiniaceae) across depth zones and between these reefs. Significant levels of M. cavernosa genetic differentiation were identified across depth at both reefs, especially between the shallow (10, 15, and 25 m) and mesop...
Abstract: A joint Cuba-U.S. expedition was conducted May 14-June 12, 2017to characterize for the ... more Abstract: A joint Cuba-U.S. expedition was conducted May 14-June 12, 2017to characterize for the first time the extent and health of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) along the entire coastline of Cuba. Remote- ly Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives at 36 sites confirmed the presence of MCE habitat along all coasts of Cuba. ROV dives covered 27 km, at depths of 25-188 m, and documented habitat and species with 103 hours of high-definition video and 21,146 digital images. A total of 477 taxa of benthic macrobiota and 178 fish taxa were identified, and 343 specimens of benthic invertebrates and algae were collected to verify taxonomy and assess population genetic structure. The pri- mary geomorphological features were the Deep Island Slope (125->150 m), Deep Fore-Reef Escarpment (the ‘Wall’, 50-125 m), and Deep Fore-Reef Slope (30-50 m). Most vertical surfaces of the Wall were covered with dense sponges, algae, octocorals, and black corals. Agarici a was the most abundant scleractinian g...
Primary Authors David Whitall1* Suzanne Bricker1 Jack Stamates2 Kurtis Gregg3 Jennifer Baez4,5 Da... more Primary Authors David Whitall1* Suzanne Bricker1 Jack Stamates2 Kurtis Gregg3 Jennifer Baez4,5 David Cox4 1NOAA, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 2NOAA, Oceans and Atmospheric Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory 3ERT, Inc in support of NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office 4Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Coral Reef Conservation Program 5Palm Beach County, Environmental Resources Management *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has contributed to substantial declines of re... more Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has contributed to substantial declines of reef-building corals in Florida. The emergence of this disease, which impacts over 20 scleractinian coral species, has generated a need for widespread reef monitoring and the implementation of novel survey and disease mitigation strategies. This study paired SCTLD prevalence assessments with colony-level monitoring to help improve understanding of disease dynamics on both individual coral colonies and at reef-wide scales. Benthic surveys were conducted throughout the northern Florida Reef Tract to monitor the presence/absence of disease, disease prevalence, and coral species affected by SCTLD. Observed SCTLD prevalence was lower in Jupiter and Palm Beach than in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or St. Lucie Reef, but there were no significant changes in prevalence over time. To assess colony-level impacts of the disease, we optimized a low-cost, rapid 3D photogrammetry technique to fate-track infecte...
The coral community at St. Lucie Reef (Stuart, Florida; 27°8' N, 80°8' W) is found near the north... more The coral community at St. Lucie Reef (Stuart, Florida; 27°8' N, 80°8' W) is found near the northern latitudinal range limit for Florida reefs and persists under environmental variability from freshwater discharges, summer upwelling, and thermal instability. Since aspects of coral physiology can be attributed to the composition of endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (genus Symbiodinium), we examined the dynamics of Symbiodinium strains in St. Lucie corals to gain insight into the organization of coral−algal symbioses under local stressors. Two scleractinian coral species that dominate the reef, Montastraea cavernosa and Pseudodiploria clivosa, were repeatedly sampled at 4 reef sites over 17 mo, during both wet and dry seasons. Symbiodinium cellular density and photosynthetic pigments differed between the 2 coral hosts, where Pseudodiploria clivosa had higher cell densities and chlorophyll concentrations than Montastraea cavernosa. Over time, these parameters varied, but were not significantly altered following freshwater discharge events. Symbiodinium diversity and abundances were identified using ITS2 region amplification and next-generation sequencing, which revealed remarkable stability of the relative proportions of different Symbiodinium genotypes throughout the sampling period. Novel associations with unique Symbiodinium strains observed for each coral species as well as the stability of these symbioses could indicate local adaptation of St. Lucie Reef corals to their marginal environmental conditions.
Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish betwee... more Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish between microbial community patterns from the same soil type under different land management practices. Natural sagebrush and irrigated mould- board-ploughed soils from Idaho were queried as to which hypervariable domains, or combinations of 16S rRNA gene domains, were the best molecular markers. Using standard ecological indices to measure richness, diversity and evenness, the combination of three domains, V1, V3 and V1 +V2, or the combined V1 and V3 domains were the markers that could best distinguish the undisturbed natural sagebrush communities from the mouldboard-ploughed microbial communities. Bray-Curtis similarity and multidimensional scaling were found to be better metrics to ordinate and cluster the LH-PCR community profiling data. The use/ misuse of traditional ecological indices such as diversity and evenness to study microbial community profiles will remain a major point to consid...
Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic consortium of microorganisms that primarily affects mass... more Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic consortium of microorganisms that primarily affects massive frameworkbuilding scleractinian corals on reefs worldwide. There has been considerable debate concerning the microbial community composition of BBD. The aim of this study was to utilize microbial profiling to assess overall patterns of variation in the BBD bacterial community with respect to geographic location, host coral species, time, and nutrient regime. Length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) was employed to differentiate BBD communities based on the natural variation in the sequence lengths within hypervariable domains of the 16S rRNA gene. Analysis of LH-PCR profiles of 97 BBD samples using multivariate ordination methods and analysis of similarity revealed significant clustering with respect to geographic region when comparing BBD sampled from reefs near Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas' Exuma Chain, the Northern Florida Keys (NFK), and St. John in the US Virgin Islands. There was much variability in BBD community composition on a regional basis, between sites in the NFK, and in terms of coral host species. The observed differences among BBD microbial community profiles were driven primarily by variation in relative abundance of 313-316-bp amplicons, which correspond to cyanobacteria and a-proteobacteria. The results obtained in this study support previous reports of intrinsic variability and complexity of the BBD microbial community but also suggest that this variability has biogeographic patterns.
Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish betwee... more Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish between microbial community patterns from the same soil type under different land management practices. Natural sagebrush and irrigated mouldboard-ploughed soils from Idaho were queried as to which hypervariable domains, or combinations of 16S rRNA gene domains, were the best molecular markers. Using standard ecological indices to measure richness, diversity and evenness, the combination of three domains, V1, V3 and V11V2, or the combined V1 and V3 domains were the markers that could best distinguish the undisturbed natural sagebrush communities from the mouldboard-ploughed microbial communities. Bray-Curtis similarity and multidimensional scaling were found to be better metrics to ordinate and cluster the LH-PCR community profiling data. The use/ misuse of traditional ecological indices such as diversity and evenness to study microbial community profiles will remain a major point to consider when performing metagenomic studies.
The number of coral diseases, coral species they infect, number of reported cases, and range over... more The number of coral diseases, coral species they infect, number of reported cases, and range over which these diseases are distributed have all increased dramatically in the past 3 decades, posing a serious threat to coral reef ecosystems worldwide. While some published studies provide data on the distribution of coral diseases at local and regional levels, few studies have addressed the factors that may drive these distributions. We recorded coral disease occurrence, prevalence, and severity along with temperature, sedimentation, and coral population data (species abundance and colony size) over 2 consecutive summers on reefs near Lee Stocking Island (LSI) in the Bahamas' Exuma Chain. In 2002 a total of 11 092 coral colonies (all species present) were examined within a survey area of 9420 m 2 , and 13 973 colonies within 10 362 m 2 in 2003. Similar to other reports, relatively large, framework species including Siderastrea siderea, Colpophyllia natans, and Montastraea annularis, along with the smaller Dichocoenia stokesi, were the species most susceptible to coral disease. Recurring infections were observed on individual colonies from 2002 to 2003, and were more likely for black band disease (BBD) than for either white plague (WP) or dark spots syndrome (DS). In 2002, WP and DS demonstrated clumped distributions, while BBD was randomly distributed. However, in 2003 BBD and WP were clumped. This is the first study, to our knowledge, that quantitatively documents coral disease dynamics on reefs surrounding LSI.
Microbial community profiles and species composition associated with two black band-diseased colo... more Microbial community profiles and species composition associated with two black band-diseased colonies of the coral Siderastrea siderea were studied by 16S rRNA-targeted gene cloning, sequencing, and amplicon-length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR). Bacterial communities associated with the surface mucopolysaccharide layer (SML) of apparently healthy tissues of the infected colonies, together with samples of the black band disease (BBD) infections, were analyzed using the same techniques for comparison. Gene sequences, ranging from 424 to 1,537 bp, were retrieved from all positive clones ( n = 43 to 48) in each of the four clone libraries generated and used for comparative sequence analysis. In addition to LH-PCR community profiling, all of the clone sequences were aligned with LH-PCR primer sequences, and the theoretical lengths of the amplicons were determined. Results revealed that the community profiles were significantly different between BBD and SML samples. The SML samples were domi...
Abstract: Coral reefs are experiencing declines worldwide and recently coral diseases have been i... more Abstract: Coral reefs are experiencing declines worldwide and recently coral diseases have been identified as significant contributors to coral mortality. However, little is known regarding the factors that drive coral disease distributions and dynamics. Current knowledge of the ...
The US Virgin Islands (USVI ) in the northeast-ern Caribbean , consist of St. Croix (207 km2), St... more The US Virgin Islands (USVI ) in the northeast-ern Caribbean , consist of St. Croix (207 km2), St. Thomas (83 km2), St. John (52 km2) and numer-ous smaller islands (Dammann and Nellis 1992). They are part of the Lesser Antilles and Leeward Islands on the eastern ...
Coral reef habitats surrounding Cuba include relatively healthy, well-developed shallow and mesop... more Coral reef habitats surrounding Cuba include relatively healthy, well-developed shallow and mesophotic (30–150 m) scleractinian communities at the cross-currents of the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA). However, Cuba’s coral communities are not immune to the declines observed throughout the TWA, and there is limited information available regarding genetic connectivity, diversity, and structure among these populations. This represents an immense gap in our understanding of coral ecology and population dynamics at both local and regional scales. To address this gap, we evaluated the population genetic structure of the coralMontastraea cavernosaacross eight reef sites surrounding Cuba. Colonies were genotyped using nine microsatellite markers and > 9,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated using the 2bRAD approach to assess fine-scale genetic structure across these sites. Both the microsatellite and SNP analyses identified patterns of genetic differentiation among ...
Coral reefs at the northern extent of Florida’s coral reef tract are exposed to many localized an... more Coral reefs at the northern extent of Florida’s coral reef tract are exposed to many localized anthropogenic influences including controlled freshwater discharges, runoff, upwelling, and seasonal environmental variability. To better understand coral responses to sublethal stressors in nearshore environments, we conducted complementary experiments to assess the impacts of estuarine runoff and temperature stress on local populations of the scleractinian coral species, Montastraea cavernosa, using Tag-Seq global gene expression profiling. In an in situ time series experiment, fate-tracked colonies were sampled during periods of relatively low and high estuarine discharge over 4 years to investigate temporal trends in transcriptional patterns and to identify if coral stress indicators were regulated through time. There was significant transcriptomic variation through time, but patterns did not appear to be attributed to distance from nearby estuarine tidal flux. In an ex situ factorial ...
Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survi... more Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survival. In the last 50 years, several reefs throughout the Caribbean have been severely impacted by increased frequency and intensity of disease outbreaks leading to coral death. A recent example of this is stony coral tissue loss disease which has quickly spread throughout the Caribbean, devastating coral reef ecosystems. Emerging from these disease outbreaks has been a coordinated research response that often integrates ‘omics techniques to better understand the coral immune system. ‘Omics techniques encompass a wide range of technologies used to identify large scale gene, DNA, metabolite, and protein expression. In this review, we discuss what is known about coral immunity and coral disease from an ‘omics perspective. We reflect on the development of biomarkers and discuss ways in which coral disease experiments to test immunity can be improved. Lastly, we consider how existing data can ...
ABSTRACTStony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortali... more ABSTRACTStony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with limited concurrence of SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of SSU 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field and laboratory SCTLD studies to find consistent bacteria associated with SCTLD across disease zones (vulnerable, endemic, and epidemic), coral species, coral compartments (mucus, tissue, and skeleton), and disease states (apparently healthy colony tissue [AH], and unaffected [DU] and lesion [DL] tissue from diseased colonies). We also evaluated bacteria in seawater and sediment, which may be sources of SCTLD transmission. Although AH colonies in endemic and epidemic zones harbor bacteria associated with SCTLD lesions, and aquaria and field samples had distinct microbial compositions, there were still clear differences in the microbial composition among AH...
Depth-generalist coral holobionts inhabit shallow (0–30 m) and mesophotic (30–150 m) reef zones b... more Depth-generalist coral holobionts inhabit shallow (0–30 m) and mesophotic (30–150 m) reef zones but may exhibit genetic specialization as a result of adaptations to environmental shifts and/or due to a lack of dispersal across depth. The level of depth-dependent genetic structuring varies across reef locations which may impact the roles mesophotic populations play in the persistence and recovery of metapopulations. A depth-generalist coral species, Montastraea cavernosa, was sampled across a shallow to mesophotic gradient at 10, 15, 25, and 35 m at Alacranes and Bajos del Norte reefs on Campeche Bank, Mexico. Both 2bRAD and ITS2 sequencing were used to quantify genetic differentiation of the coral hosts and community structure of their algal endosymbionts (Family Symbiodiniaceae) across depth zones and between these reefs. Significant levels of M. cavernosa genetic differentiation were identified across depth at both reefs, especially between the shallow (10, 15, and 25 m) and mesop...
Abstract: A joint Cuba-U.S. expedition was conducted May 14-June 12, 2017to characterize for the ... more Abstract: A joint Cuba-U.S. expedition was conducted May 14-June 12, 2017to characterize for the first time the extent and health of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) along the entire coastline of Cuba. Remote- ly Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives at 36 sites confirmed the presence of MCE habitat along all coasts of Cuba. ROV dives covered 27 km, at depths of 25-188 m, and documented habitat and species with 103 hours of high-definition video and 21,146 digital images. A total of 477 taxa of benthic macrobiota and 178 fish taxa were identified, and 343 specimens of benthic invertebrates and algae were collected to verify taxonomy and assess population genetic structure. The pri- mary geomorphological features were the Deep Island Slope (125->150 m), Deep Fore-Reef Escarpment (the ‘Wall’, 50-125 m), and Deep Fore-Reef Slope (30-50 m). Most vertical surfaces of the Wall were covered with dense sponges, algae, octocorals, and black corals. Agarici a was the most abundant scleractinian g...
Primary Authors David Whitall1* Suzanne Bricker1 Jack Stamates2 Kurtis Gregg3 Jennifer Baez4,5 Da... more Primary Authors David Whitall1* Suzanne Bricker1 Jack Stamates2 Kurtis Gregg3 Jennifer Baez4,5 David Cox4 1NOAA, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 2NOAA, Oceans and Atmospheric Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory 3ERT, Inc in support of NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office 4Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Coral Reef Conservation Program 5Palm Beach County, Environmental Resources Management *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has contributed to substantial declines of re... more Since 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has contributed to substantial declines of reef-building corals in Florida. The emergence of this disease, which impacts over 20 scleractinian coral species, has generated a need for widespread reef monitoring and the implementation of novel survey and disease mitigation strategies. This study paired SCTLD prevalence assessments with colony-level monitoring to help improve understanding of disease dynamics on both individual coral colonies and at reef-wide scales. Benthic surveys were conducted throughout the northern Florida Reef Tract to monitor the presence/absence of disease, disease prevalence, and coral species affected by SCTLD. Observed SCTLD prevalence was lower in Jupiter and Palm Beach than in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or St. Lucie Reef, but there were no significant changes in prevalence over time. To assess colony-level impacts of the disease, we optimized a low-cost, rapid 3D photogrammetry technique to fate-track infecte...
The coral community at St. Lucie Reef (Stuart, Florida; 27°8' N, 80°8' W) is found near the north... more The coral community at St. Lucie Reef (Stuart, Florida; 27°8' N, 80°8' W) is found near the northern latitudinal range limit for Florida reefs and persists under environmental variability from freshwater discharges, summer upwelling, and thermal instability. Since aspects of coral physiology can be attributed to the composition of endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (genus Symbiodinium), we examined the dynamics of Symbiodinium strains in St. Lucie corals to gain insight into the organization of coral−algal symbioses under local stressors. Two scleractinian coral species that dominate the reef, Montastraea cavernosa and Pseudodiploria clivosa, were repeatedly sampled at 4 reef sites over 17 mo, during both wet and dry seasons. Symbiodinium cellular density and photosynthetic pigments differed between the 2 coral hosts, where Pseudodiploria clivosa had higher cell densities and chlorophyll concentrations than Montastraea cavernosa. Over time, these parameters varied, but were not significantly altered following freshwater discharge events. Symbiodinium diversity and abundances were identified using ITS2 region amplification and next-generation sequencing, which revealed remarkable stability of the relative proportions of different Symbiodinium genotypes throughout the sampling period. Novel associations with unique Symbiodinium strains observed for each coral species as well as the stability of these symbioses could indicate local adaptation of St. Lucie Reef corals to their marginal environmental conditions.
Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish betwee... more Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish between microbial community patterns from the same soil type under different land management practices. Natural sagebrush and irrigated mould- board-ploughed soils from Idaho were queried as to which hypervariable domains, or combinations of 16S rRNA gene domains, were the best molecular markers. Using standard ecological indices to measure richness, diversity and evenness, the combination of three domains, V1, V3 and V1 +V2, or the combined V1 and V3 domains were the markers that could best distinguish the undisturbed natural sagebrush communities from the mouldboard-ploughed microbial communities. Bray-Curtis similarity and multidimensional scaling were found to be better metrics to ordinate and cluster the LH-PCR community profiling data. The use/ misuse of traditional ecological indices such as diversity and evenness to study microbial community profiles will remain a major point to consid...
Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic consortium of microorganisms that primarily affects mass... more Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic consortium of microorganisms that primarily affects massive frameworkbuilding scleractinian corals on reefs worldwide. There has been considerable debate concerning the microbial community composition of BBD. The aim of this study was to utilize microbial profiling to assess overall patterns of variation in the BBD bacterial community with respect to geographic location, host coral species, time, and nutrient regime. Length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) was employed to differentiate BBD communities based on the natural variation in the sequence lengths within hypervariable domains of the 16S rRNA gene. Analysis of LH-PCR profiles of 97 BBD samples using multivariate ordination methods and analysis of similarity revealed significant clustering with respect to geographic region when comparing BBD sampled from reefs near Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas' Exuma Chain, the Northern Florida Keys (NFK), and St. John in the US Virgin Islands. There was much variability in BBD community composition on a regional basis, between sites in the NFK, and in terms of coral host species. The observed differences among BBD microbial community profiles were driven primarily by variation in relative abundance of 313-316-bp amplicons, which correspond to cyanobacteria and a-proteobacteria. The results obtained in this study support previous reports of intrinsic variability and complexity of the BBD microbial community but also suggest that this variability has biogeographic patterns.
Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish betwee... more Amplicon length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) was investigated for its ability to distinguish between microbial community patterns from the same soil type under different land management practices. Natural sagebrush and irrigated mouldboard-ploughed soils from Idaho were queried as to which hypervariable domains, or combinations of 16S rRNA gene domains, were the best molecular markers. Using standard ecological indices to measure richness, diversity and evenness, the combination of three domains, V1, V3 and V11V2, or the combined V1 and V3 domains were the markers that could best distinguish the undisturbed natural sagebrush communities from the mouldboard-ploughed microbial communities. Bray-Curtis similarity and multidimensional scaling were found to be better metrics to ordinate and cluster the LH-PCR community profiling data. The use/ misuse of traditional ecological indices such as diversity and evenness to study microbial community profiles will remain a major point to consider when performing metagenomic studies.
The number of coral diseases, coral species they infect, number of reported cases, and range over... more The number of coral diseases, coral species they infect, number of reported cases, and range over which these diseases are distributed have all increased dramatically in the past 3 decades, posing a serious threat to coral reef ecosystems worldwide. While some published studies provide data on the distribution of coral diseases at local and regional levels, few studies have addressed the factors that may drive these distributions. We recorded coral disease occurrence, prevalence, and severity along with temperature, sedimentation, and coral population data (species abundance and colony size) over 2 consecutive summers on reefs near Lee Stocking Island (LSI) in the Bahamas' Exuma Chain. In 2002 a total of 11 092 coral colonies (all species present) were examined within a survey area of 9420 m 2 , and 13 973 colonies within 10 362 m 2 in 2003. Similar to other reports, relatively large, framework species including Siderastrea siderea, Colpophyllia natans, and Montastraea annularis, along with the smaller Dichocoenia stokesi, were the species most susceptible to coral disease. Recurring infections were observed on individual colonies from 2002 to 2003, and were more likely for black band disease (BBD) than for either white plague (WP) or dark spots syndrome (DS). In 2002, WP and DS demonstrated clumped distributions, while BBD was randomly distributed. However, in 2003 BBD and WP were clumped. This is the first study, to our knowledge, that quantitatively documents coral disease dynamics on reefs surrounding LSI.
Microbial community profiles and species composition associated with two black band-diseased colo... more Microbial community profiles and species composition associated with two black band-diseased colonies of the coral Siderastrea siderea were studied by 16S rRNA-targeted gene cloning, sequencing, and amplicon-length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR). Bacterial communities associated with the surface mucopolysaccharide layer (SML) of apparently healthy tissues of the infected colonies, together with samples of the black band disease (BBD) infections, were analyzed using the same techniques for comparison. Gene sequences, ranging from 424 to 1,537 bp, were retrieved from all positive clones ( n = 43 to 48) in each of the four clone libraries generated and used for comparative sequence analysis. In addition to LH-PCR community profiling, all of the clone sequences were aligned with LH-PCR primer sequences, and the theoretical lengths of the amplicons were determined. Results revealed that the community profiles were significantly different between BBD and SML samples. The SML samples were domi...
Abstract: Coral reefs are experiencing declines worldwide and recently coral diseases have been i... more Abstract: Coral reefs are experiencing declines worldwide and recently coral diseases have been identified as significant contributors to coral mortality. However, little is known regarding the factors that drive coral disease distributions and dynamics. Current knowledge of the ...
The US Virgin Islands (USVI ) in the northeast-ern Caribbean , consist of St. Croix (207 km2), St... more The US Virgin Islands (USVI ) in the northeast-ern Caribbean , consist of St. Croix (207 km2), St. Thomas (83 km2), St. John (52 km2) and numer-ous smaller islands (Dammann and Nellis 1992). They are part of the Lesser Antilles and Leeward Islands on the eastern ...
Coral reef habitats surrounding Cuba include relatively healthy, well-developed shallow and mesop... more Coral reef habitats surrounding Cuba include relatively healthy, well-developed shallow and mesophotic (30–150 m) scleractinian communities at the cross-currents of the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA). However, Cuba’s coral communities are not immune to the declines observed throughout the TWA, and there is limited information available regarding genetic connectivity, diversity, and structure among these populations. This represents an immense gap in our understanding of coral ecology and population dynamics at both local and regional scales. To address this gap, we evaluated the population genetic structure of the coralMontastraea cavernosaacross eight reef sites surrounding Cuba. Colonies were genotyped using nine microsatellite markers and > 9,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated using the 2bRAD approach to assess fine-scale genetic structure across these sites. Both the microsatellite and SNP analyses identified patterns of genetic differentiation among ...
Coral reefs at the northern extent of Florida’s coral reef tract are exposed to many localized an... more Coral reefs at the northern extent of Florida’s coral reef tract are exposed to many localized anthropogenic influences including controlled freshwater discharges, runoff, upwelling, and seasonal environmental variability. To better understand coral responses to sublethal stressors in nearshore environments, we conducted complementary experiments to assess the impacts of estuarine runoff and temperature stress on local populations of the scleractinian coral species, Montastraea cavernosa, using Tag-Seq global gene expression profiling. In an in situ time series experiment, fate-tracked colonies were sampled during periods of relatively low and high estuarine discharge over 4 years to investigate temporal trends in transcriptional patterns and to identify if coral stress indicators were regulated through time. There was significant transcriptomic variation through time, but patterns did not appear to be attributed to distance from nearby estuarine tidal flux. In an ex situ factorial ...
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