Coral disease

Coral diseases are transmissible pathogens that cause the degradation of coral colonies. Coral cover in reef ecosystems has decreased significantly for a diverse set of reasons, ranging from variable environmental conditions to mechanical breakdowns from storms.[1][2] In recent years, diseases that infect and kill coral have shown to be a threat to the health of coral reefs. Since the first coral disease was reported in 1965, many different kinds of diseases have popped up in mostly Caribbean waters.[3] These diseases are diverse, including pathogens of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoans.[1] Coral diseases have widespread implications, impacting entire ecosystems and communities of organisms. Researchers are working to understand these diseases, and how potential treatments could stop these pathogens from causing the widespread death of corals in a way that permanently impacts the community structure of reefs.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b Harvell D, Jordán-Dahlgren E, Merkel S, Rosenberg E, Raymundo L, Smith G, et al. (2007). "Coral disease, environmental drivers, and the balance between coral and microbial associates" (PDF). Oceanography. 20: 172–195. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2007.91. ISSN 1042-8275.
  2. ^ Woodley CM, Downs CA, Bruckner AW, Porter JW, Galloway SB, eds. (2016). Diseases of coral. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-8138-2411-6.
  3. ^ Sokolow S (November 2009). "Effects of a changing climate on the dynamics of coral infectious disease: a review of the evidence". Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 87 (1–2): 5–18. doi:10.3354/dao02099. PMID 20095237.
  4. ^ Sweet M, Jones R, Bythell J (2012). "Coral diseases in aquaria and in nature". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 92 (4): 791–801. Bibcode:2012JMBUK..92..791S. doi:10.1017/S0025315411001688. ISSN 0025-3154. S2CID 73579609.
  5. ^ Pollock FJ, Morris PJ, Willis BL, Bourne DG (October 2011). "The urgent need for robust coral disease diagnostics". PLOS Pathogens. 7 (10): e1002183. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002183. PMC 3197597. PMID 22028646.