A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since 2014.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Severe coral disease is now killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), including those within Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. This disease, tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), may be the same one that started killing corals in Florida in 2014. First observed in 2019 in St. Thomas, it has now spread throughout almost all areas in St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. Up until this outbreak, the greatest degradation of reefs in the USVI within the last 50 years was associated with white plague disease that followed extensive coral bleaching in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, the amount of living coral cover at long-term sites monitored by USGS and the National Park Service (NPS) declined an average of 60%. With climate change, high seawater temperatures are expected to lead to more frequent bleaching episodes and possibly more disease outbreaks. The anticipated benefits of the marine protected areas (i.e., the national park and national monuments in the USVI) could be undermined by these stressors.
In 2006, Acropora palmata, the primary reef-building species in shallow water throughout the Caribbean, was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act based on losses from disease and major storms. In 2014, 5 more species, including two Orbicella species that are the most abundant around St. John, were also listed as threatened. Acropora palmata is not known to be affected by SCTLD, but it is estimated that over 90% of the Caribbean population was killed by white band disease. There is a need to better understand the relationship among high seawater temperature, bleaching, and disease.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: USGS WARC is collaborating with other USGS scientists and partners from the University of Puerto Rico and the NPS to collect samples from diseased and apparently normal coral colonies around St. John and Puerto Rico to determine if the disease observed in these areas is the same as that in Florida. USGS scientists will be relating the appearance of gross lesions to the condition of the tissues when examined with light and electron microscopes, and will continue to monitor and photograph corals around St. John, inside and outside NPS waters, primarily to document the spread of SCTLD and the coral species affected. USGS WARC regularly provides observations to the Virgin Islands Coral Disease website and confers with other experts regarding the spread of SCTLD and how different coral species respond to the disease.
Future Steps: Efforts will be made to sustain sampling and monitoring of sampled corals over time by the University of Puerto Rico and the NPS. Such time series of corals have received very little attention to date. USGS WARC will continue to monitor and photograph diseased and unaffected corals.
Related Publications:
Weil E, Rogers C (2011) Coral reef diseases in the Atlantic-Caribbean. Part 5. pages 465-491. In: (editors Zvy Dubinsky, Noga Stambler) Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-014-4_27.
Miller J, Muller E, Rogers C., Waara, R., Atkinson, A., Whelan, K. R. T., et al. (2009). Coral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs 28, 925–937. doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0531-7.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Stony coral tissue loss disease in Florida is associated with disruption of host–zooxanthellae physiology
Early signs of recovery of Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands
Rapidly spreading seagrass invades the Caribbean with unknown ecological consequences
Coral reef resilience through biodiversity
Bleaching, disease and recovery in the threatened scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands: 2003-2010
Coral reef diseases in the Atlantic-Caribbean
Coral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands
- Overview
A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since 2014.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Severe coral disease is now killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), including those within Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. This disease, tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), may be the same one that started killing corals in Florida in 2014. First observed in 2019 in St. Thomas, it has now spread throughout almost all areas in St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. Up until this outbreak, the greatest degradation of reefs in the USVI within the last 50 years was associated with white plague disease that followed extensive coral bleaching in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, the amount of living coral cover at long-term sites monitored by USGS and the National Park Service (NPS) declined an average of 60%. With climate change, high seawater temperatures are expected to lead to more frequent bleaching episodes and possibly more disease outbreaks. The anticipated benefits of the marine protected areas (i.e., the national park and national monuments in the USVI) could be undermined by these stressors.
One of the coral species most susceptible to stony coral tissue loss disease shows active lesions of the disease around St. John. (Public domain) In 2006, Acropora palmata, the primary reef-building species in shallow water throughout the Caribbean, was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act based on losses from disease and major storms. In 2014, 5 more species, including two Orbicella species that are the most abundant around St. John, were also listed as threatened. Acropora palmata is not known to be affected by SCTLD, but it is estimated that over 90% of the Caribbean population was killed by white band disease. There is a need to better understand the relationship among high seawater temperature, bleaching, and disease.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: USGS WARC is collaborating with other USGS scientists and partners from the University of Puerto Rico and the NPS to collect samples from diseased and apparently normal coral colonies around St. John and Puerto Rico to determine if the disease observed in these areas is the same as that in Florida. USGS scientists will be relating the appearance of gross lesions to the condition of the tissues when examined with light and electron microscopes, and will continue to monitor and photograph corals around St. John, inside and outside NPS waters, primarily to document the spread of SCTLD and the coral species affected. USGS WARC regularly provides observations to the Virgin Islands Coral Disease website and confers with other experts regarding the spread of SCTLD and how different coral species respond to the disease.
One of the coral species most susceptible to stony coral tissue loss disease shows active lesions of the disease around St. John. (Public domain) Future Steps: Efforts will be made to sustain sampling and monitoring of sampled corals over time by the University of Puerto Rico and the NPS. Such time series of corals have received very little attention to date. USGS WARC will continue to monitor and photograph diseased and unaffected corals.
Related Publications:
Weil E, Rogers C (2011) Coral reef diseases in the Atlantic-Caribbean. Part 5. pages 465-491. In: (editors Zvy Dubinsky, Noga Stambler) Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-014-4_27.
Miller J, Muller E, Rogers C., Waara, R., Atkinson, A., Whelan, K. R. T., et al. (2009). Coral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs 28, 925–937. doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0531-7.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Stony coral tissue loss disease in Florida is associated with disruption of host–zooxanthellae physiology
Samples from eight species of corals (Colpophyllia natans, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Diploria labyrinthiformis, Meandrina meandrites, Montastraea cavernosa, Orbicella faveolata, Pseudodiploria strigosa, and Siderastrea siderea) that exhibited gross clinical signs of acute, subacute, or chronic tissue loss attributed to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) were collected from the Florida Reef TractAuthorsJan Landsberg, Yasunari Kiryu, Esther Peters, Patrick Wilson, Yvonne Waters, Kerry Maxwell, Lindsay Huebner, Thierry M. WorkEarly signs of recovery of Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands
Since the 1980s, diseases have caused significant declines in the population of the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora palmata. Yet it is largely unknown whether the population densities have recovered from these declines and whether there have been any recent shifts in size-frequency distributions toward large colonies. It is also unknown whether colony size influences the risk of disease infectAuthorsE. M. Muller, Caroline S. Rogers, R. van WoesikRapidly spreading seagrass invades the Caribbean with unknown ecological consequences
The non-native seagrass Halophila stipulacea has spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean Sea (Willette et al. 2014); without additional research, the ecological ramifications of this invasion are difficult to predict. Biodiversity, connectivity of marine ecosystems, and recovery of degraded coral reefs could all be affected. The invasive seagrass, native to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, has takenAuthorsCaroline S. Rogers, Demian A Willette, Jeff MillerCoral reef resilience through biodiversity
Irrefutable evidence of coral reef degradation worldwide and increasing pressure from rising seawater temperatures and ocean acidification associated with climate change have led to a focus on reef resilience and a call to “manage” coral reefs for resilience. Ideally, global action to reduce emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be accompanied by local action. Effective manageAuthorsCaroline S. RogersBleaching, disease and recovery in the threatened scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands: 2003-2010
A long-term study of the scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) showed that diseases, particularly white pox, are limiting the recovery of this threatened species. Colonies of A. palmata in Haulover Bay, within Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, were examined monthly in situ for signs of disease and other stressors from January 2003 through December 2009. DuringAuthorsC.S. Rogers, E. M. MullerCoral reef diseases in the Atlantic-Caribbean
Coral reefs are the jewels of the tropical oceans. They boast the highest diversity of all marine ecosystems, aid in the development and protection of other important, productive coastal marine communities, and have provided millions of people with food, building materials, protection from storms, recreation and social stability over thousands of years, and more recently, income, active pharmacoloAuthorsCaroline S. Rogers, Ernesto WeilCoral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands
In the northeast Caribbean, doldrum-like conditions combined with elevated water temperatures in the summer/fall 2005 created the most severe coral bleaching event ever documented within this region. Video monitoring of 100 randomly chosen, permanent transects at five study sites in the US Virgin Islands revealed over 90% of the scleractinian coral cover showed signs of thermal stress by paling orAuthorsJ. Miller, E. Muller, C. Rogers, R. Waara, A. Atkinson, K.R.T. Whelan, M. Patterson, B. Witcher