Coral Reefs

The delicate balance of coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean is under attack by the outbreak of an emerging disease. But researchers are revealing new insights into this latest threat to marine biodiversity. We’ll explore in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s “Discovery Files”.
Scientists don’t know what causes the mysterious and deadly stony coral tissue loss disease, but it is creating a drastic change in the coral population across the Western Atlantic and Caribbean. First reported off the coast of Miami in 2014, the disease has since been identified in 18 countries and territories.
NSF-supported researchers at the University of Florida are examining the effects of stony coral tissue loss disease on fish and reef communities, including coral, algae, and sponges.
The disease not only impacts susceptible coral populations but also crustose coralline algae, the resilient pink crust that is crucial for building reef structure. The gradual erosion of the coral reef framework is expected to have severe long-term impacts on coral reef fishes.
As a result, faster-growing species, including macroalgae, cyanobacteria, and fire coral, are thriving in the absence of competitors, spreading into the vacant spaces left by the decimated corals, offsetting the delicate balance in these ecosystems.
An international effort is working to understand what is driving stony coral tissue loss disease, thought to be a waterborne pathogen and developing potential solutions including a promising treatment involving probiotics.