Fish & Wildlife Disease: Coral Diseases
Corals reefs support marine biodiversity, protect coastlines from storm surges and strong waves, and provide income from tourism to coastal communities. Coral diseases were first recognized in the 1970s and are now considered a major threat to coral reef survival worldwide. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) emerged in Florida in 2014, impacting coral reefs in Florida, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and other Caribbean reefs. SCTLD causes high mortality rates in multiple species and now threatens Pacific coral reefs.
USGS Coral Disease Science Team:
James Patrick Cronin, James Evans, Aine C Hawthorn, Margaret Hunter, Deborah D Iwanowicz, Christina Kellogg, Kevin Lafferty, Julien Martin, Travis McDevitt-Galles, Adam A Perez, Maureen K Purcell, Katie Richgels, Caroline Rogers, W. Bane Schill, Daniel P. Walsh, C. LeAnn White, and Thierry M Work
Coral Disease Research
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Habitat Assessment and Evaluation
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Coral Propagation Technique (CPT) Development Project
Research in response to Florida’s emerging coral disease
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
Marine Invertebrate Diseases
Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs
NRDA: Deepwater ROV Sampling to Assess Potential Impacts to Hardbottom Coral Communities and Associates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
USGS DISCOVRE: Benthic Ecology, Trophodynamics, and Ecosystem Connectivity – Lophelia II: Continuing Ecological Research on Deep-Sea Corals and Deep Reef Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Connectivity of Tropical Marine Ecosystems: Understanding Biodiversity and Trophic Relationships in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Life on the Edge: Can Corals in Mangroves Provide Insights into Climate Change and Recovery following Severe Hurricane Damage?
Explore our science using the data below.
Underwater temperature on off-shore coral reefs of the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. Coral reef organisms are very sensitive to high and low water-temperature extremes. It is critical to precisely know water temperatures experienced by corals and associated plants and animals that live in the dynamic, nearshore environment to document th
Bacterial Communities Shed by Montastraea cavernosa Coral Fragments into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms-Raw Data
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Southeast Florida and Florida Keys: Antibiotic Resistance in Association with Ocean Outfalls and the Antibiotic Treatment of Diseased Corals
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
This documentary presents how recent changes in the composition and quantities of African dust transported to the Caribbean and the Americas might provide clues to why Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are deteriorating and human health may be impacted.
This documentary presents how recent changes in the composition and quantities of African dust transported to the Caribbean and the Americas might provide clues to why Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are deteriorating and human health may be impacted.
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS coral disease research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS coral disease publications is available from the button below.
Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks
Combining tangential flow filtration and size fractionation of mesocosm water as a method for the investigation of waterborne coral diseases
Assessing effects of sediment delivery to coral reefs: A Caribbean watershed perspective
Transforming Palmyra Atoll to native-tree dominance will increase net carbon storage and reduce dissolved organic carbon reef runoff
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Similarities and differences between two deadly Caribbean coral diseases: White plague and stony coral tissue loss disease
A comparative baseline of coral disease in three regions along the Saudi Arabian coast of the central Red Sea
Global tropical reef fish richness could decline by around half if corals are lost
Identifying metabolic alterations associated with coral growth anomalies using 1H NMR metabolomics
Stony coral tissue loss disease in Florida is associated with disruption of host–zooxanthellae physiology
Annual outbreaks of coral disease coincide with extreme seasonal warming
Morphological, elemental, and boron isotopic insights into pathophysiology of diseased coral growth anomalies
High water temperatures bleaching coral along south Florida coast
As much of the world grapples with historic heat waves exacerbated by climate change and the ongoing El Nino event, ocean temperatures are also on the rise.
USGS Coral Disease Science Team:
James Patrick Cronin, Ph.D.
Research Ecologist
James Evans, Ph.D.
Research Marine Biologist
Deborah D Iwanowicz, PhD
Research Fish Biologist
Christina Kellogg, Ph.D.
Research Microbiologist
Kevin Lafferty
Senior Ecologist, ST
Julien Martin, Ph.D.
Supervisory Biologist
Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Deputy Center Director
Katie Richgels
Chief, Ecology and Epidemiology Branch
Thierry M Work
Wildlife Disease Specialist
Corals reefs support marine biodiversity, protect coastlines from storm surges and strong waves, and provide income from tourism to coastal communities. Coral diseases were first recognized in the 1970s and are now considered a major threat to coral reef survival worldwide. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) emerged in Florida in 2014, impacting coral reefs in Florida, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and other Caribbean reefs. SCTLD causes high mortality rates in multiple species and now threatens Pacific coral reefs.
USGS Coral Disease Science Team:
James Patrick Cronin, James Evans, Aine C Hawthorn, Margaret Hunter, Deborah D Iwanowicz, Christina Kellogg, Kevin Lafferty, Julien Martin, Travis McDevitt-Galles, Adam A Perez, Maureen K Purcell, Katie Richgels, Caroline Rogers, W. Bane Schill, Daniel P. Walsh, C. LeAnn White, and Thierry M Work
Coral Disease Research
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Habitat Assessment and Evaluation
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Coral Propagation Technique (CPT) Development Project
Research in response to Florida’s emerging coral disease
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
Marine Invertebrate Diseases
Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs
NRDA: Deepwater ROV Sampling to Assess Potential Impacts to Hardbottom Coral Communities and Associates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
USGS DISCOVRE: Benthic Ecology, Trophodynamics, and Ecosystem Connectivity – Lophelia II: Continuing Ecological Research on Deep-Sea Corals and Deep Reef Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Connectivity of Tropical Marine Ecosystems: Understanding Biodiversity and Trophic Relationships in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Life on the Edge: Can Corals in Mangroves Provide Insights into Climate Change and Recovery following Severe Hurricane Damage?
Explore our science using the data below.
Underwater temperature on off-shore coral reefs of the Florida Keys, U.S.A.
The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. Coral reef organisms are very sensitive to high and low water-temperature extremes. It is critical to precisely know water temperatures experienced by corals and associated plants and animals that live in the dynamic, nearshore environment to document th
Bacterial Communities Shed by Montastraea cavernosa Coral Fragments into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms-Raw Data
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Southeast Florida and Florida Keys: Antibiotic Resistance in Association with Ocean Outfalls and the Antibiotic Treatment of Diseased Corals
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
This documentary presents how recent changes in the composition and quantities of African dust transported to the Caribbean and the Americas might provide clues to why Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are deteriorating and human health may be impacted.
This documentary presents how recent changes in the composition and quantities of African dust transported to the Caribbean and the Americas might provide clues to why Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are deteriorating and human health may be impacted.
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS coral disease research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS coral disease publications is available from the button below.
Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks
Combining tangential flow filtration and size fractionation of mesocosm water as a method for the investigation of waterborne coral diseases
Assessing effects of sediment delivery to coral reefs: A Caribbean watershed perspective
Transforming Palmyra Atoll to native-tree dominance will increase net carbon storage and reduce dissolved organic carbon reef runoff
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Similarities and differences between two deadly Caribbean coral diseases: White plague and stony coral tissue loss disease
A comparative baseline of coral disease in three regions along the Saudi Arabian coast of the central Red Sea
Global tropical reef fish richness could decline by around half if corals are lost
Identifying metabolic alterations associated with coral growth anomalies using 1H NMR metabolomics
Stony coral tissue loss disease in Florida is associated with disruption of host–zooxanthellae physiology
Annual outbreaks of coral disease coincide with extreme seasonal warming
Morphological, elemental, and boron isotopic insights into pathophysiology of diseased coral growth anomalies
High water temperatures bleaching coral along south Florida coast
As much of the world grapples with historic heat waves exacerbated by climate change and the ongoing El Nino event, ocean temperatures are also on the rise.
USGS Coral Disease Science Team: