Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Christina Kellogg, Ph.D.
I am an environmental microbiologist that uses molecular techniques and microbiology methods to study marine microbes, particularly the microbial ecology of tropical and deep-sea corals.
Dr. Kellogg joined the U.S. Geological Survey as a Mendenhall Fellow, characterizing the microbial communities in aerosolized African desert dust, beach sediments, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Currently, she leads the Coral Microbial Ecology Laboratory at the U.S. Geological Survey, studying the microbiomes and environments of tropical and cold-water corals.
Dr. Kellogg is active in shaping the direction of microbiome research in the U.S., having represented the Department of Interior (DOI) on the Federal Microbiome Interagency Working Group, the National Microbiome Data Collaborative, and serving as Subject Matter Expert to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy rollout of the National Microbiome Initiative in 2016.
Professional Experience
2003 – Present: Research principal investigator and head of Coral Microbial Ecology Lab, USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
2001 – 2003: USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
1998 – 2001: Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC
1991 – 1998: Research Assistant, Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida
Education and Certifications
PhD: 1998, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL
BS: 1991, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Science and Products
Diadema antillarum Mass Mortality
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Coral Propagation Technique (CPT) Development Project
Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
Ecosystems: EXPRESS
EXPRESS: Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
DISCOVRE: Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems
Microbial Processes on Reefs
Lophelia Metagenome Extraction Protocol
Coral Microbial Ecology
DISCOVRE - Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems Project
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
Testing Treatments Against Parasitic Scuticociliate (Philaster apodigitiformis) that Causes Mass Mortality Among Sea Urchins (Diadema antillarum) - Results
Functional Gene Microarray Data From Cold-water Corals (Acanthogorgia spp., Desmophyllum dianthus, Desmophyllum pertusum, and Enallopsammia profunda) from the Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast Coast of the United States-Raw Data
The files in this data release (Kellogg and Voelschow, 2023) contain normalized microarray probe intensity values from GeoChip 5.0S microarrays referenced in the journal article entitled 'Functional gene composition and metabolic potential of deep-sea coral-associated microbial communities' by Pratte and others (2022). The GeoChip 5.0S microarrays, provided by Glomics Inc., contain 57,498 oligonuc
Prokaryotic Communities Shed by Diseased and Healthy Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Montastraea cavernosa, Colpophyllia natans, and Orbicella faveolata) into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data
The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2023) entitled 'Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)'. The files contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S rRNA gene amplicon files from fifty-six 0.22-micrometer (µm) pore size filters, as well as six rea
Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project
Prokaryotic Communities From Marine Biofilms Formed on Stainless Steel Plates in Coral Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data
The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2022) entitled "Ship Biofilms as Potential Reservoirs of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease." They contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence files from 15 microbial communities (sample names: CnD16B,
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Anthothela spp.) from Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons: Raw and Processed Data
Bacterial Communities Shed by Montastraea cavernosa Coral Fragments into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms-Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Acanthogorgia spp. Desmophyllum dianthus, and Lophelia pertusa) from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast Coast of the United States-Raw Data
Coral Microbiome Preservation and Extraction Method Comparison-Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Metagenomes (Lophelia pertusa) from Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean: Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Astrangia poculata) from Narragansett Bay: Sequence Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Primnoa spp.) from Gulf of Alaska, Baltimore Canyon, and Norfolk Canyon: Raw Data
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
A bright orange Brisingid starfish is seen in the center of the image. The background is a thicket of live (white) and dead (brown) Lophelia coral. Several squat lobsters (Eumunida picta) can be seen in the coral, as well as a blue encrusting sponge and an urchin (foreground, lower left).
A bright orange Brisingid starfish is seen in the center of the image. The background is a thicket of live (white) and dead (brown) Lophelia coral. Several squat lobsters (Eumunida picta) can be seen in the coral, as well as a blue encrusting sponge and an urchin (foreground, lower left).
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.
A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.
A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).
A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).
Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).
Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).
Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.
Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.
A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
Collected from more than 1000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, this fragile brittle star clings to a soft coral. These deep-sea coral ecosystems ar biodiversity hot-spots in the deep ocean, but they are also vulnerable to climate change issues such as increased temperature and ocean acidification.
Collected from more than 1000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, this fragile brittle star clings to a soft coral. These deep-sea coral ecosystems ar biodiversity hot-spots in the deep ocean, but they are also vulnerable to climate change issues such as increased temperature and ocean acidification.
Christmas tree worms have made their home on a brain coral. Tropical corals reefs are complex ecosystems, but are rapidly being lost to bleaching and disease, linked to increasing water temperatures.
Christmas tree worms have made their home on a brain coral. Tropical corals reefs are complex ecosystems, but are rapidly being lost to bleaching and disease, linked to increasing water temperatures.
A queen trigger fish and a green turtle feeding together on a reef in Belize.
A queen trigger fish and a green turtle feeding together on a reef in Belize.
A tiny brittle star (the central disc is smaller than a dime) clings to the branches of a soft coral in a sample bucket brought into the shipboard laboratory from a submersible dive. This creature makes its home on the deep, dark ocean floor.
A tiny brittle star (the central disc is smaller than a dime) clings to the branches of a soft coral in a sample bucket brought into the shipboard laboratory from a submersible dive. This creature makes its home on the deep, dark ocean floor.
Evaluation of in vitro treatments against the causative agent of Diadema antillarum scuticociliatosis (DaSc)
Transglobal spread of an ecologically relevant sea urchin parasite
Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)
Effective treatment and prevention of any disease necessitates knowledge of the causative agent, yet the causative agents of most coral diseases remain unknown, in part due to the difficulty of distinguishing the pathogenic microbe(s) among the complex microbial backdrop of coral hosts. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a particularly destructive disease of unknown etiology, capable of tr
Functional gene composition and metabolic potential of deep-sea coral-associated microbial communities
Over the past decade, an abundance of 16S rRNA gene surveys have provided microbiologists with data regarding the prokaryotes present in a coral-associated microbial community. Functional gene studies that provide information regarding what those microbes might do are fewer, particularly for non-tropical corals. Using the GeoChip 5.0S microarray, we present a functional gene study of microbiomes f
A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea
Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
A meta-analysis of the stony coral tissue loss disease microbiome finds key bacteria in unaffected and lesion tissue in diseased colonies
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with the limited concurrence of SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field and laboratory SCTLD studies to find consistent bacteria associated with S
Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease
Since 2014, corals throughout Florida’s Coral Reef have been plagued by an epizootic of unknown etiology, colloquially termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Although in Florida the movement of this waterborne coral disease has been consistent with natural transport via water currents, outbreaks in the Caribbean have been more sporadic, with infections occurring in locations inconsistent
Combining tangential flow filtration and size fractionation of mesocosm water as a method for the investigation of waterborne coral diseases
Unexpected diversity of Endozoicomonas in deep-sea corals
Comparison of preservation and extraction methods on five taxonomically disparate coral microbiomes
Identifying mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys
Science and Products
Diadema antillarum Mass Mortality
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities: Coral Propagation Technique (CPT) Development Project
Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
Ecosystems: EXPRESS
EXPRESS: Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
DISCOVRE: Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems
Microbial Processes on Reefs
Lophelia Metagenome Extraction Protocol
Coral Microbial Ecology
DISCOVRE - Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems Project
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
Testing Treatments Against Parasitic Scuticociliate (Philaster apodigitiformis) that Causes Mass Mortality Among Sea Urchins (Diadema antillarum) - Results
Functional Gene Microarray Data From Cold-water Corals (Acanthogorgia spp., Desmophyllum dianthus, Desmophyllum pertusum, and Enallopsammia profunda) from the Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast Coast of the United States-Raw Data
The files in this data release (Kellogg and Voelschow, 2023) contain normalized microarray probe intensity values from GeoChip 5.0S microarrays referenced in the journal article entitled 'Functional gene composition and metabolic potential of deep-sea coral-associated microbial communities' by Pratte and others (2022). The GeoChip 5.0S microarrays, provided by Glomics Inc., contain 57,498 oligonuc
Prokaryotic Communities Shed by Diseased and Healthy Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Montastraea cavernosa, Colpophyllia natans, and Orbicella faveolata) into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data
The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2023) entitled 'Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)'. The files contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S rRNA gene amplicon files from fifty-six 0.22-micrometer (µm) pore size filters, as well as six rea
Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project
Prokaryotic Communities From Marine Biofilms Formed on Stainless Steel Plates in Coral Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data
The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2022) entitled "Ship Biofilms as Potential Reservoirs of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease." They contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence files from 15 microbial communities (sample names: CnD16B,
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Anthothela spp.) from Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons: Raw and Processed Data
Bacterial Communities Shed by Montastraea cavernosa Coral Fragments into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms-Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Acanthogorgia spp. Desmophyllum dianthus, and Lophelia pertusa) from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast Coast of the United States-Raw Data
Coral Microbiome Preservation and Extraction Method Comparison-Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Metagenomes (Lophelia pertusa) from Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean: Raw Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Astrangia poculata) from Narragansett Bay: Sequence Data
Cold-water Coral Microbiomes (Primnoa spp.) from Gulf of Alaska, Baltimore Canyon, and Norfolk Canyon: Raw Data
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Diadema antillarum, the long-spined sea urchin, is an ecologically important species in Caribbean coral reef habitats where it controls algal growth and coverage and helps keep reef surfaces clear for corals to grow and settle. In early 2022, the remaining D. antillarum populations began experiencing mass mortality in the Caribbean.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
A bright orange Brisingid starfish is seen in the center of the image. The background is a thicket of live (white) and dead (brown) Lophelia coral. Several squat lobsters (Eumunida picta) can be seen in the coral, as well as a blue encrusting sponge and an urchin (foreground, lower left).
A bright orange Brisingid starfish is seen in the center of the image. The background is a thicket of live (white) and dead (brown) Lophelia coral. Several squat lobsters (Eumunida picta) can be seen in the coral, as well as a blue encrusting sponge and an urchin (foreground, lower left).
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.
A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.
A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.
A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).
A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).
Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).
Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).
Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.
Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.
Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.
A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
Collected from more than 1000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, this fragile brittle star clings to a soft coral. These deep-sea coral ecosystems ar biodiversity hot-spots in the deep ocean, but they are also vulnerable to climate change issues such as increased temperature and ocean acidification.
Collected from more than 1000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, this fragile brittle star clings to a soft coral. These deep-sea coral ecosystems ar biodiversity hot-spots in the deep ocean, but they are also vulnerable to climate change issues such as increased temperature and ocean acidification.
Christmas tree worms have made their home on a brain coral. Tropical corals reefs are complex ecosystems, but are rapidly being lost to bleaching and disease, linked to increasing water temperatures.
Christmas tree worms have made their home on a brain coral. Tropical corals reefs are complex ecosystems, but are rapidly being lost to bleaching and disease, linked to increasing water temperatures.
A queen trigger fish and a green turtle feeding together on a reef in Belize.
A queen trigger fish and a green turtle feeding together on a reef in Belize.
A tiny brittle star (the central disc is smaller than a dime) clings to the branches of a soft coral in a sample bucket brought into the shipboard laboratory from a submersible dive. This creature makes its home on the deep, dark ocean floor.
A tiny brittle star (the central disc is smaller than a dime) clings to the branches of a soft coral in a sample bucket brought into the shipboard laboratory from a submersible dive. This creature makes its home on the deep, dark ocean floor.
Evaluation of in vitro treatments against the causative agent of Diadema antillarum scuticociliatosis (DaSc)
Transglobal spread of an ecologically relevant sea urchin parasite
Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)
Effective treatment and prevention of any disease necessitates knowledge of the causative agent, yet the causative agents of most coral diseases remain unknown, in part due to the difficulty of distinguishing the pathogenic microbe(s) among the complex microbial backdrop of coral hosts. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a particularly destructive disease of unknown etiology, capable of tr
Functional gene composition and metabolic potential of deep-sea coral-associated microbial communities
Over the past decade, an abundance of 16S rRNA gene surveys have provided microbiologists with data regarding the prokaryotes present in a coral-associated microbial community. Functional gene studies that provide information regarding what those microbes might do are fewer, particularly for non-tropical corals. Using the GeoChip 5.0S microarray, we present a functional gene study of microbiomes f
A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea
Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
A meta-analysis of the stony coral tissue loss disease microbiome finds key bacteria in unaffected and lesion tissue in diseased colonies
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with the limited concurrence of SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field and laboratory SCTLD studies to find consistent bacteria associated with S
Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease
Since 2014, corals throughout Florida’s Coral Reef have been plagued by an epizootic of unknown etiology, colloquially termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Although in Florida the movement of this waterborne coral disease has been consistent with natural transport via water currents, outbreaks in the Caribbean have been more sporadic, with infections occurring in locations inconsistent