Abstract
The effectiveness of management plans developed for responding to coral disease outbreaks is limited due to the lack of rapid methods of disease diagnosis. In order to fulfill current management guidelines for responding to coral disease outbreaks, alternative methods that significantly reduce response time must be developed. Hyperspectral sensing has been used by various groups to characterize the spectral signatures unique to asymptomatic and bleached corals. The 2010 combined bleaching and Caribbean yellow band disease outbreak in Puerto Rico provided a unique opportunity to investigate the spectral signatures associated with bleached and Caribbean yellow band-diseased colonies of Orbicella faveolata for the first time. Using derivative and cluster analyses of hyperspectral reflectance data, the present study demonstrates the proof of concept that spectral signatures can be used to differentiate between coral disease states. This method enhanced predominant visual methods of diagnosis by distinguishing between different asymptomatic conditions that are identical in field observations and photographic records. The ability to identify disease-affected tissue before lesions become visible could greatly reduce response times to coral disease outbreaks in monitoring efforts. Finally, spectral signatures associated with the poorly understood Caribbean yellow band disease are presented to guide future research on the role of pigments in the etiology.
Highlights
Coral diseases have significantly contributed to the loss of coral cover and diversity on tropical coral reefs around the world
Positive peaks in fourth derivative analyses (Figure 3A, B) that demonstrated significant differences in Mann Whitney (MW) pairwise condition comparisons correspond to wavelengths that contribute to spectral differences between conditions
In an effort to expand the array of tools available for investigating and monitoring coral disease, the spectral features associated with O. faveolata affected by Caribbean yellow band disease (CYBD) were characterized for the first time
Summary
Coral diseases have significantly contributed to the loss of coral cover and diversity on tropical coral reefs around the world. Diagnosis of the most virulent coral diseases depends on the observation of lesions and tissue mortality in the field [8] These events are rarely preceded by visual symptoms that provide an advanced alert of an increased risk of disease outbreaks. The regulation of antioxidants, reactive oxygen species, and apoptosis underpin host homeostasis From these models, molecular biomarkers of coral stress have been developed and promoted as necessary tools in coral disease diagnosis [25]. Molecular biomarkers of coral stress have been developed and promoted as necessary tools in coral disease diagnosis [25] Despite these advancements, biomarkers of coral stress have not been integrated into long-term monitoring efforts [26,27]
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