Abstract
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a troubling new disease that is spreading rapidly across the greater Caribbean region, but the etiological agent(s) and the mechanisms(s) of spread are both unknown. First detected off the coast of Miami, Florida, major ocean currents alone do not explain the pattern of spread, with outbreaks occurring across geographically disjunct and distant locations. This has raised concerns by researchers and resource managers that commercial vessels may contribute as vectors to spread of the disease. Despite existing regulatory and management strategies intended to limit coastal marine invasion risks, the efficacy of these measures is still unresolved for ship-borne microorganisms, and disease transport via ballast water and hull biofouling are under examination given the high ship traffic in the region. Here, to help inform the discussion of ships as possible vectors of SCTLD, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about ships and their potential to transfer organisms in the greater Caribbean, focusing in particular on ballast water, and outline a set of recommendations for future research.
Highlights
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a lethal coral disease first reported off the coast of MiamiDade County, Florida in September 2014 (Precht et al, 2016; Walton et al, 2018), has spread quickly and as of July 2021 has been confirmed in 15 countries/territories throughout the greater Caribbean region (Figure 1; Kramer et al, 2019)
Because of the unprecedented number of coral species affected (∼20) for coral diseases, there are concerns that Pacific corals may be susceptible to the disease, prompting alarm about pathogen movement beyond the Caribbean
Ballast Water Management Systems To further reduce the number of organisms and invasion risk beyond Ballast water exchange (BWE), United States Coast Guard (USCG), and Convention regulations phase in concentration-based limits on organisms in ballast water (BW) discharge
Summary
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a lethal coral disease first reported off the coast of MiamiDade County, Florida in September 2014 (Precht et al, 2016; Walton et al, 2018), has spread quickly and as of July 2021 has been confirmed in 15 countries/territories throughout the greater Caribbean region (Figure 1; Kramer et al, 2019). Because of the unprecedented number of coral species affected (∼20) for coral diseases, there are concerns that Pacific corals may be susceptible to the disease, prompting alarm about pathogen movement beyond the Caribbean. As with many other coral tissue loss diseases (Roder et al, 2014; Gignoux-Wolfsohn and Vollmer, 2015), the etiological agent(s) of SCTLD has not been identified.
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