Spatial and Temporal Variability of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease Prevalence in<i>Orbicella</i>spp. off La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Soto-Santiago, Francisco J.; Weil, Ernesto

doi:10.18475/cjos.v48i3.a06

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) is a widely distributed and chronic disease that is most commonly observed on the critical reef-building corals in the Orbicella spp. complex ( Reeves, 1994 ; Santavy et al, 1999 ; Cervino et al, 2001 ; Gil-Agudelo et al, 2004 ; Weil, 2004 ; Bruckner & Bruckner, 2006 ; Carricart-Ganivet, Beltrán-Torres & Horta-Puga, 2011 ; Soto-Santiago & Weil, 2014 ). CYBD is considered to be one of the most severe and lethal coral diseases, as recovery has rarely been observed (but see Weil, Cróquer & Urreiztieta, 2009 and Soto-Santiago & Weil, 2014 for seasonal dynamics).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…complex ( Reeves, 1994 ; Santavy et al, 1999 ; Cervino et al, 2001 ; Gil-Agudelo et al, 2004 ; Weil, 2004 ; Bruckner & Bruckner, 2006 ; Carricart-Ganivet, Beltrán-Torres & Horta-Puga, 2011 ; Soto-Santiago & Weil, 2014 ). CYBD is considered to be one of the most severe and lethal coral diseases, as recovery has rarely been observed (but see Weil, Cróquer & Urreiztieta, 2009 and Soto-Santiago & Weil, 2014 for seasonal dynamics). This disease was first reported on Orbicella faveolata in the Florida Keys by Reeves (1994) , and was subsequently described by Santavy et al (1999) as yellow-blotch disease in the San Blas Islands of Caribbean Panama.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This disease was first reported on Orbicella faveolata in the Florida Keys by Reeves (1994) , and was subsequently described by Santavy et al (1999) as yellow-blotch disease in the San Blas Islands of Caribbean Panama. The prevalence of CYBD fluctuates through time, often peaking seasonally with elevated seawater temperatures ( Cervino et al, 2001 ; Cróquer & Weil, 2009 ; Weil, Cróquer & Urreiztieta, 2009 ; Soto-Santiago & Weil, 2014 ; Randall & Van Woesik, 2017 ). While it was seldom reported prior to the 2005 Caribbean coral-bleaching event, CYBD is now common on many Caribbean reefs, necessitating the urgent development of treatment methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Testing methods to mitigate Caribbean yellow-band disease on Orbicella faveolata

Randall

Whitcher

Code

et al. 2018

PeerJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Outbreaks of coral diseases continue to reduce global coral populations. In the Caribbean, yellow band is a severe and wide-spread disease that commonly affects corals of the Orbicella spp. complex, significantly impeding coral reproduction, and hindering the natural recovery of Orbicella spp. populations. Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) lesions may be severe, and often result in the complete loss of coral tissue. The slow spread of CYBD, however, provides an opportunity to test methods to mitigate the disease. Here we report the results of in situ experiments, conducted within Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI, to test the effectiveness of three techniques to minimize disease impact on Orbicella faveolata: (1) shading, (2) aspirating, and (3) chiseling a “firebreak” to isolate the lesion. Neither shading nor aspirating the diseased tissue significantly reduced CYBD tissue loss. However, chiseling reduced the rate and amount of tissue lost by 31%. While 30–40% of the chiseled lesions appeared to be free of disease signs 12–16 months after treatment, success significantly and steadily declined over 23 months, indicating a possible lack of long-term viability of the technique. The results of this study demonstrate that creating a “firebreak” between diseased and healthy-appearing tissue slows the spread of the disease and may prolong the life of O. faveolata colonies. The firebreak method yielded the best results of all the techniques tested, and also required the least amount of effort and resources. However, we do not recommend that this treatment alone be used for long-term disease mitigation. Rather, we propose that modifications of this and other treatment options be sought. The results also highlight the need for extended monitoring of CYBD after any treatment, due to the slow but variable rate and pattern of tissue loss in this disease.

show abstract