Project: RAPID: Collaborative Research: Investigation of the transmission, infectivity and differential host specificity of a coral disease outbreak on Florida reefs

NSF Award Abstract:
Corals are threatened by diseases globally, and understanding coral disease is key to protecting reefs. Diseases are a major cause of coral mortality, yet there is surprisingly little information on the causes and progression of diseases in corals. Currently there is a widespread coral disease outbreak occurring on the reefs of Florida that has already resulted in massive die-offs in multiple coral species. At least 13 species of corals have been affected with heavily impacted species being reduced to less than 3% of their initial populations. This unprecedented outbreak in multiple species of corals provides a unique but time-sensitive (outbreaks are ephemeral) opportunity to address critical questions about diseases in corals. This project will directly examine disease transmission, explore potential pathogens and examine coral defense mechanisms of affected and resistant species. The combined efforts of multiple researchers and agencies, addressing different components of the disease outbreak, will provide much needed answers to questions concerning marine diseases, which will likely be applicable not only to the Florida coral reefs but to coral diseases world-wide. This research will be beneficial to those who rely on coral reefs as a source for food, recreation, and coastal protection. Furthermore, this project is designed to give the next generation of marine scientists the training and tools to combat coral diseases in the future.

Disease is a complex process emerging under specific host-pathogen-environmental conditions, and outbreaks can often be traced to a disturbance in the balance among the three components. The impact of coral diseases will likely increase in both intensity and geographic extent in the future; however, our ability to understand or manage diseases in coral reef ecosystems has been hampered by the lack of a systematic approach to understanding the pathology and pathogenesis of diseases in corals using multiple epidemiological tools. There is surprisingly little information on whether particular diseases are transmissible to neighboring conspecifics, or whether some diseases are infectious across species boundaries. An outbreak of tissue loss disease in multiple species of corals across the Florida reef tract provides a unique but time-sensitive opportunity to address critical questions about disease pathogenesis in corals. The proposed research will directly test the transmission and infectivity, microbiome changes and host specificity of this disease outbreak and use methods previously utilized by members of the team to isolate and identify the causative agent. The research team will work closely with managers in Florida agencies, attend monthly conference calls and provide regular updates about this work. A postdoctoral researcher and an undergraduate student intern will be engaged in this research and trained in many areas of microbiology research. Researchers will present lectures to the public at venues such as science museums and environmental education facilities throughout the Florida Keys and Florida east coast.