| > Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 20, Number 1 |
2007, Oceanography 20(1):172–195, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2007.91
Coral Disease, Environmental Drivers, and the Balance Between Coral and Microbial Associates
Authors | First Paragraph | Full Article | Citation
Authors
CORAL DISEASE WORKING GROUP OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACILITY
CORAL REEF TARGETED RESEARCH PROGRAM
Drew Harvell | Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Eric Jordán-Dahlgren | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cancún, México
Susan Merkel | Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Eugene Rosenberg | Department of Microbiology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Laurie Raymundo | University of Guam Marine Laboratory, Mangiloa, Guam, USA
Garriet Smith | University of South Carolina, Aiken, SC, USA
Ernesto Weil | Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, USA
Bette Willis | School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
First Paragraph
Across the globe, we are witnessing the decline of coral reef ecosystems. One relatively new factor contributing to this decline is the outbreak of destructive infectious diseases, especially on Caribbean reefs. As the Coral Disease Working Group of the Coral Reef Targeted Research Program, our research focuses on four priorities: (1) assessing the global prevalence of coral disease, (2) investigating the environmental drivers of disease, (3) identifying the pathogens that cause disease, and (4) evaluating the coral's ability to resist disease. Monitoring has revealed new coral-disease syndromes at each of four Global Environmental Fund Centers of Excellence: the Caribbean, the Philippines, Australia, and East Africa. Over the last 20 years, drastic (> 50 percent) loss of coral cover has occurred on the Yucatán Peninsula, even in pristine areas.
Full Article
Citation
Coral Disease Working Group of the Global Environmental Facility Coral Reef Targeted Research Program. 2007. Coral disease, environmental drivers, and the balance between coral and microbial associates. Oceanography 20(1):172–195, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2007.91.