Yellow Band Disease Research Articles

Outcomes of Infections of Sea Anemone Aiptasia pallida with Vibrio spp. Pathogenic to Corals

Incidents of coral disease are on the rise. However, in the absence of a surrogate animal host, understanding of the interactions between coral pathogens and their hosts remains relatively limited, compared to other pathosystems of similar global importance. A tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia pallida, has been investigated as a surrogate model to study certain aspects of coral biology. Therefore, to test whether the utility of this surrogate model can be extended to study coral diseases, in the present study, we tested its susceptibility to common coral pathogens (Vibrio coralliilyticus and Vibrio shiloi) as well as polymicrobial consortia recovered from the Caribbean Yellow Band Disease (CYBD) lesions. A. pallida was susceptible to each of the tested pathogens. A. pallida responded to the pathogens with darkening of the tissues (associated with an increased melanization) and retraction of tentacles, followed by complete disintegration of polyp tissues. Loss of zooxanthellae was not observed; however, the disease progression pattern is consistent with the behavior of necrotizing pathogens. Virulence of some coral pathogens in Aiptasia was paralleled with their glycosidase activities.

Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy: a tool to identify gross chemical changes from healthy to yellow band disease tissues

Yellow band disease (YBD) is a common and wide-spread Caribbean syndrome that affects the genus Orbicella, a group of species that constitute the framework of Caribbean coral reefs. Previous studies have shown that the structure and function of bacterial assemblages vary between healthy tissues and YBD lesions; however, how the molecular composition of tissues varies as tissues transition from healthy to YBD has not been determined before. The present study provides the first survey of macromolecules found from healthy (H), apparently healthy (AH), transition (TR) and YBD tissues of Orbicella faveolata. For this, we used Fourier-transformed mid-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to compare absorption profiles as a proxy for the gross molecular composition of decalcified H, AH and YBD tissues. We found a significantly higher level of infrared absorption for bands assigned to lipids in H tissues compared to YBD tissues, suggesting that lipid compounds are more abundant in compromised tissues in relation to other macromolecules. We also found a lower level of intensity of bands assigned to carbohydrates and proteins in YBD tissues, compared to H and AH tissues. A similar pattern was observed for phospholipidic compounds in relation to fatty acids. This study is the first to show that healthy and YBD-compromised tissues have different infrared absorption profiles, suggesting that alterations in the biochemical composition occur during pathogenesis. Future studies should focus on determining the actual concentration of these compounds in H, AH, TR and YBD tissues and on testing the role of translocation of photoassimilates from H tissues and/or from endolithic algae to YBD tissues.

Hyperspectral Sensing of Disease Stress in the Caribbean Reef-Building Coral, Orbicella faveolata - Perspectives for the Field of Coral Disease Monitoring

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.

Erratum to “Incidence and Spatial Distribution of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease in La Parguera, Puerto Rico”

Erratum to “Incidence and Spatial Distribution of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease in La Parguera, Puerto Rico”

Algae as Reservoirs for Coral Pathogens

Benthic algae are associated with coral death in the form of stress and disease. It's been proposed that they release exudates, which facilitate invasion of potentially pathogenic microbes at the coral-algal interface, resulting in coral disease. However, the original source of these pathogens remains unknown. This study examined the ability of benthic algae to act as reservoirs of coral pathogens by characterizing surface associated microbes associated with major Caribbean and Indo-Pacific algal species/types and by comparing them to potential pathogens of two dominant coral diseases: White Syndrome (WS) in the Indo-Pacific and Yellow Band Disease (YBD) in the Caribbean. Coral and algal sampling was conducted simultaneously at the same sites to avoid spatial effects. Potential pathogens were defined as those absent or rare in healthy corals, increasing in abundance in healthy tissues adjacent to a disease lesion, and dominant in disease lesions. Potentially pathogenic bacteria were detected in both WS and YBD and were also present within the majority of algal species/types (54 and 100% for WS and YBD respectively). Pathogenic ciliates were associated only with WS and not YBD lesions and these were also present in 36% of the Indo-Pacific algal species. Although potential pathogens were associated with many algal species, their presence was inconsistent among replicate algal samples and detection rates were relatively low, suggestive of low density and occurrence. At the community level, coral-associated microbes irrespective of the health of their host differed from algal-associated microbes, supporting that algae and corals have distinctive microbial communities associated with their tissue. We conclude that benthic algae are common reservoirs for a variety of different potential coral pathogens. However, algal-associated microbes alone are unlikely to cause coral death. Initial damage or stress to the coral via other competitive mechanisms is most likely a prerequisite to potential transmission of these pathogens.

Major similarities in the bacterial communities associated with lesioned and healthy Fungiidae corals

Cultivation-based studies have demonstrated that yellow-band disease (YBD), a lesion-producing ailment affecting diverse species of coral, is caused by a consortium of Vibrio spp. This study takes the first cultivation-independent approach to examine the whole bacterial community associated with YBD-like lesioned corals. Two species of Fungiidae corals, Ctenactis crassa and Herpolitha limax, displaying YBD-like lesions were examined across diverse reefs throughout the Red Sea. Using a pyrosequencing approach targeting the V1-V3 regions of the SSU rRNA gene, no major differences in bacterial community composition or diversity were identified between healthy and lesioned corals of either species. Indicator species analysis did not find Vibrio significantly associated with the lesioned corals. However, operational taxonomic units belonging to the Ruegeria genus of Alphaproteobacteria and NS9 marine group of Flavobacteria were significantly associated with the lesioned corals. The most striking trend of this dataset was that reef location was found to be the most significant influence on the coral-bacterial community. It is possible that more pronounced lesion-specific bacterial signatures might have been concealed by the strong influence of environmental conditions on coral-bacteria. Overall, this study demonstrates inconsistencies between cultivation-independent and cultivation-based studies regarding the role of specific bacteria in coral diseases.

Ulcerated yellow spot syndrome: implications of aquaculture-related pathogens associated with soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi tissue lesions

We introduce a new marine syndrome called ulcerated yellow spot, affecting the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi. To identify bacteria associated with tissue lesions, tissue and mucus samples were taken during a 2009 Indo-Pacific research expedition near the Wakatobi Island chain, Indonesia. Polymerase chain reaction targeting the 16S rDNA gene indicated associations with the known fish-disease-causing bacterium Photobacterium damselae, as well as multiple Vibrio species. Results indicate a shift toward decreasing diversity of bacteria in lesioned samples. Photobacterium damselae ssp. piscicida, formerly known as Pasteurella piscicida, is known as the causative agent of fish pasteurellosis and in this study, was isolated solely in lesioned tissues. Globally, fish pasteurellosis is one of the most damaging fish diseases in marine aquaculture. Vibrio alginolyticus, a putative pathogen associated with yellow band disease in scleractinian coral, was also isolated from lesioned tissues. Lesions appear to be inflicting damage on symbiotic zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium sp.), measurable by decreases in mitotic index, cell density and photosynthetic efficiency. Mitotic index of zooxanthellae within infected tissue samples was decreased by ~80%, while zooxanthellae densities were decreased by ~40% in lesioned tissue samples compared with healthy coral. These results provide evidence for the presence of known aquaculture pathogens in lesioned soft coral and may be a concern with respect to cross-species epizootics in the tropics.

Bacterial assemblages shifts from healthy to yellow band disease states in the dominant reef coral Montastraea faveolata

Descriptions of microbial diversity in healthy and diseased corals are necessary first steps before further investigating the mechanisms that lead to coral pathology. This is the first study that characterizes the microbial associates from healthy corals to yellow band disease (YBD) lesions using two complementary screening techniques of bacterial 16S rRNA genes [amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) of clone libraries and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)]. Both these techniques showed similar trends, namely a significant difference in the bacterial community and an increase in diversity from healthy to YBD diseased lesions. There was an increase in the number of sequences retrieved of potentially pathogenic bacteria in diseased tissues compared with healthy samples, most notably from the genus Vibrio. Furthermore, we also detected a number of known pathogenic bacteria within the natural healthy microbiota such as Vibrio carchariae and Vibrio harveyi, a result supporting previous studies, showing healthy corals have the ability to harbour these species.

Caribbean coral diseases: primary transmission or secondary infection?

AbstractOver the last 40 years, disease outbreaks have significantly reduced coral populations throughout the Caribbean. Most coral‐disease models assume that coral diseases are contagious and that pathogens are transmitted from infected to susceptible hosts. However, this assumption has not been rigorously tested. We used spatial epidemiology to examine disease clustering, at scales ranging from meters to tens of kilometers, to determine whether three of the most common Caribbean coral diseases, (i) yellow‐band disease, (ii) dark‐spot syndrome, and (iii) white‐plague disease, were spatially clustered. For all three diseases, we found no consistent evidence of disease clustering and, therefore, these diseases did not follow a contagious‐disease model. We suggest that the expression of some coral diseases is instead a two‐step process. First, environmental thresholds are exceeded. Second, these environmental conditions either weaken the corals, which are then more susceptible to infection, or the conditions increase the virulence or abundance of pathogens. Exceeding such environmental thresholds will most likely become increasingly common in rapidly warming oceans, leading to more frequent coral‐disease outbreaks.

Incidence and Spatial Distribution of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease in La Parguera, Puerto Rico

The incidence and spatial distribution patterns of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease (CYBD) on the important frame-builder coralMontastraea faveolatawere assessed by counting, tagging, and mapping all diseased and healthy colonies for one year in each of three 100 m2quadrats on two inner, mid-shelf, and shelf-edge reefs off La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Healthy colonies were checked every month from January to December of 2009 to monitor disease spread within each quadrant. Incidence increased significantly from winter (0.7±0.8% SE) to summer (1.5±1.1% SE,n=23, Sign Test;Z=2.40;P=0.01). Mid-shelf reefs had the highest host abundance and showed significantly higher CYBD incidence (2.1±1.4% SE,n=14) compared to the other zones (H=9.74; df=2;P=0.04). The increased incidence in the summer suggests that warmer months favor development of CYBD onM. faveolata. Results showed aggregated patterns of CYBD when all colonies (i.e., healthy + diseased) at the spatial scales sampled were analyzed on each reef. This suggests facilitation of disease spread between aggregated colonies within populations. Similar stressful conditions then might trigger the disease in susceptible, aggregated colonies harboring the potential pathogens.

Implications of coral harvest and transplantation on reefs in northwestern Dominica.

In June, 2002, the government of Dominica requested assistance in evaluating the coral culture and transplantation activities being undertaken by Oceanographic Institute of Dominica (OID), a coral farm culturing both western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific corals for restoration and commercial sales. We assessed the culture facilities of OID, the condition of reefs, potential impacts of coral collection and benefits of coral transplantation. Coral reefs (9 reefs, 3-20 m depth) were characterized by 35 species of scleractinian corals and a live coral cover of 8-35%. Early colonizing, brooders such as Porites astreoides (14.8% of all corals), P. porites (14.8%), Meandrina meandrites (14.7%) and Agaricia agaricites (9.1%) were the most abundant corals, but colonies were mostly small (mean = 25 cm diameter). Montastraea annularis (complex) was the other dominant taxa (20.8% of all corals) and colonies were larger (mean = 70 cm). Corals (pooled species) were missing an average of 20% of their tissue, with a mean of 1.4% recent mortality. Coral diseases affected 6.4% of all colonies, with the highest prevalence at Cabrits West (11.0%), Douglas Bay (12.2%) and Coconut Outer reef (20.7%). White plague and yellow band disease were causing the greatest loss of tissue, especially among M. annularis (complex), with localized impacts from corallivores, overgrowth by macroalgae, storm damage and sedimentation. While the reefs appeared to be undergoing substantial decline, restoration efforts by OlD were unlikely to promote recovery. No Pacific species were identified at OID restoration sites, yet species chosen for transplantation with highest survival included short-lived brooders (Agaricia and Porites) that were abundant in restoration sites, as well as non-reef builders (Palythoa and Erythropodium) that monopolize substrates and overgrow corals. The species of highest value for restoration (massive broadcast spawners) showed low survivorship and unrestored populations of these species were most affected by biotic stressors and human impacts, all of which need to be addressed to enhance survival of outplants. Problems with culture practices at OID, such as high water temperature, adequate light levels and persistent overgrowth by macroalgae could be addressed through simple modifications. Nevertheless, coral disease and other stressors are of major concern to the most important reef builders, as these species are less amenable to restoration, collection could threaten their survival and losses require decades to centuries to replace.

Vibrio harveyi as a causative agent of the White Syndrome in tropical stony corals

We investigated bacterial assemblages associated with corals displaying symptoms of the 'White Syndrome' (WS), a general term used for indicating the appearance of bands, spots or patches of tissue loss, which is devastating wide areas of tropical ecosystems worldwide. We collected WS-diseased (n = 15) and healthy (n = 15) corals from the natural reef (Indonesia, Indian Ocean) and from four large public aquaria. By using culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques, we found that a large fraction (73%) of the investigated WS events was associated with the presence of a high bacterial abundance and, specifically, of Vibrio spp. Vibrio harveyi, a pathogen of many marine organisms and recently involved in coral Yellow Band disease, was the most represented species, being recovered from five out of 15 diseased corals. In experimental infection assays, two V. harveyi strains, isolated from diseased corals, were inoculated on a total of 62 healthy colonies of Pocillopora damicornis. WS signs appeared in 57 corals, confirming the ability of V. harveyi strains to induce the disease. We conclude that V. harveyi is one of the coral pathogens involved in the appearance of WS. However, not all of the investigated WSs were associated to V. harveyi detection, nor to other Vibrio species (such as V. coralliilyticus), which supports the hypothesis that WS is not caused exclusively by Vibrio spp., but rather can have a multifactorial aetiology, or can represent a group of diseases caused by a variety of agents. Further investigations to identify specific virulence traits will contribute to the understanding of the role of V. harveyi in WS pathogenesis.

An assessment of coral reefs in Tobago

Abstract. The coral reefs of Tobago represent some of the southernmost reefs in the Caribbean and have developed under the influence of runoff (e.g. terrestrial sediment and nutrients) from South American rivers. Local terrestrial runoff resulting from poor land management practices have also impacted reef development. Benthic surveys were conducted at 11 sites around the island in order to assess reef status. Mean (±SD) coral cover across Tobago was 14.9 (±7.6) % and macroalgae cover was highly variable ranging between 65 % at Bulldog Reef (Atlantic Coast), to 1.2 % at Mt Irvine (Caribbean coast). Montastrea faveolata (Ellis) and Diploria strigosa (Dana) dominated scleractinian coral communities and gorgonians accounted for 12.3 (±7.1) % of total benthic cover. Yellow band disease was observed on the major reef builders, M. faveolata, at most sites. The grazing urchin, Diadema antillarum (Philippi), have not recovered since their demise in the 1980's. However despite limited grazing, the majority of moni...

Yellow band disease compromises the reproductive output of the Caribbean reef-building coral Montastraea faveolata (Anthozoa, Scleractinia)

Sexual reproduction is critical to coral population dynamics and the long-term regeneration of coral reefs. Bleaching, disease, and/or anthropogenic-induced tissue/colony loss reduce reproductive output. This is the first attempt to explore the effect of a biotic disease on the reproduction of scleractinian corals. The study aimed to assess the effect of yellow band disease (YBD) on the reproduction of the important Caribbean reef-builder Montastraea faveolata. Tissue samples were collected from diseased, transition, and healthy-looking areas in each of 5 infected colonies and from 5 healthy controls in southwest Puerto Rico. The effect of disease-induced mortality was assessed by collecting samples from the edge and center of surviving small and large, healthy-looking tissue patches from large, previously infected tagged colonies. Fecundity was significantly lower in disease lesions compared to transition and healthy-looking tissues and the controls (99% fewer eggs). Fecundity in transition areas was significantly lower (50%) than in healthy-looking tissues in diseased colonies, which had 23% lower fecundity than control tissues. Although this fecundity drop was not statistically significant, it could indicate a systemic effect of YBD across the colony. Large and small patches had 64 and 84% fewer eggs than controls, respectively, and edge polyps had 97% fewer eggs than those in central control areas. Field observations of the spawning behavior of each tissue area corroborated the histological results. Our results indicate that YBD significantly compromises the reproductive output of M. faveolata, potentially reducing the fitness and consequently, the recovery of this important reef-building species on Caribbean coral reefs.

Immune defenses of healthy, bleached and diseased Montastraea faveolata during a natural bleaching event

One prominent hypothesis regarding climate change and scleractinian corals is that thermal stress compromises immune competence. To test this hypothesis we tracked how the immune defenses of bleached, apparently healthy and yellow band disease (YBD) diseased Montastraea faveolata colonies varied with natural thermal stress in southwestern Puerto Rico. Colonies were monitored for 21 mo from the peak of the bleaching event in October 2005 to August 2007. Since sea surface temperature was significantly higher in summer and fall 2005 than 2006, year of collection was used as a proxy for temperature stress, and colony fragments collected in 2005 were compared with those collected in 2006. Mortality rate was high (43% overall) and all colonies (except one) either died or became infected with YBD by August 2007. YBD-infected tissue did not bleach (i.e. expel zooxanthellae) during the 2005 bleaching event, even when healthy tissue of these colonies bleached. Immune activity was assayed by measuring prophenoloxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POX), lysozyme-like (LYS) and antibacterial (AB) activity. Immune activity was variable between all coral samples, but there was a significant elevation of PPO activity in bleached colonies collected in 2005 relative to apparently healthy and YBD-diseased corals in 2006. In YBD-diseased colonies, LYS and AB activity were elevated in both healthy and infected tissue, indicating a systemic response; activity levels in these colonies were higher compared to those that appeared healthy. In both these immune parameters, there was a trend for suppression of activity in corals that were bleached in 2005. These data, while complicated by between-genet variability, illustrate the complex interaction between disease and temperature stress on immune function.

Changes in Caribbean coral disease prevalence after the 2005 bleaching event

Bleaching events and disease epizootics have increased during the past decades, suggesting a positive link between these 2 causes in producing coral mortality. However, studies to test this hypothesis, integrating a broad range of hierarchical spatial scales from habitats to distant localities, have not been conducted in the Caribbean. In this study, we examined links between bleaching intensity and disease prevalence collected from 6 countries, 2 reef sites for each country, and 3 habitats within each reef site (N = 6 x 2 x 3 = 36 site-habitat combinations) during the peak of bleaching in 2005 and a year after, in 2006. Patterns of disease prevalence and bleaching were significantly correlated (Rho = 0.58, p = 0.04). Higher variability in disease prevalence after bleaching occurred among habitats at each particular reef site, with a significant increase in prevalence recorded in 4 of the 10 site-habitats where bleaching was intense and a non-significant increase in disease prevalence in 18 out of the 26 site-habitats where bleaching was low to moderate. A significant linear correlation was found (r = 0.89, p = 0.008) between bleaching and the prevalence of 2 virulent diseases (yellow band disease and white plague) affecting the Montastraea species complex. Results of this study suggest that if bleaching events become more intense and frequent, disease-related mortality of Caribbean coral reef builders could increase, with uncertain effects on coral reef resilience.

Ten years of change to coral communities off Mona and Desecheo Islands, Puerto Rico, from disease and bleaching

Remote reefs off southwest Puerto Rico have experienced recent losses in live coral cover of 30 to 80%, primarily due to the decline of Montastraea annularis and M. faveolata from disease and bleaching. These species were formerly the largest, oldest, and most abundant corals on these reefs, constituting over 65% of the living coral cover and 40 to 80% of the total number of colonies. From 1998 to 2001, outbreaks of yellow band disease (YBD) and white plague (WP) affected 30 to 60% of the M. annularis (complex) colonies. Disease prevalence declined beginning in 2002, and then increased immediately following the 2005 mass bleaching event. Colonies of M. annularis (complex) have been reduced in abundance by 24 to 32%, and remaining colonies are missing more than half their tissue. Both M. annularis and M. faveolata have failed to recruit, resheeting has been minimal, and exposed skeletal surfaces are being colonized by macroalgae, bioeroding sponges, and hydrozoans. Other scleractinian corals were smaller in size (mean = 28 cm diameter) and exhibited lower levels of partial mortality; these taxa were affected to a lesser extent by coral diseases and bleaching-associated tissue loss over the last decade. The numbers of small colonies (1 to 9 cm) of these species identified since 2005 also exceeded numbers of larger colonies that died. These reefs appear to be exhibiting shifts in species assemblages, with replacement of M. annularis (complex) by shorter-lived brooding species and other massive and plating corals (Agaricia, Porites, Meandrina, Eusmilia, Diploria, and Siderastrea spp.). To avoid a catastrophic and permanent loss of the dominant, slow-growing reef-building corals, the causes and effects of diseases need to be better understood, and possible control mechanisms must be developed. In particular, steps must be taken to mitigate environmental and anthropogenic stressors that increase the spread and severity of disease.

Vibrio Consortia, Warming Seas Aggravate Yellow Band Disease in Corals

A consortium of 10 Vibrio species, some well known for causing an epidemic of yellow band disease (YBD) among Caribbean coral reefs, also infects coral in the Pacific, raising questions as to how it traveled from one ocean to the other. Although six species within the consortium are novel, all members are like two shellfish pathogens, V. alginolyticus and V. harveyi. Moreover, the pathology in both oceans is the same “at the morphological and cellular levels,” and virulence rises in parallel with increases in ambient temperatures, according to James Cervino of Pace University, New York, N.Y., who is also a visiting scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, Mass., and his collaborators. “In a global warming world, this disease is the worst possible scenario that can happen to corals,” he says. Details appear in the November-December Journal of Applied Microbiology (105:1658–1671).

Spatial variability in distribution and prevalence of Caribbean scleractinian coral and octocoral diseases. II. Genera-level analysis

Geographic assessments of coral/octocoral diseases affecting major reef-building genera and abundant reef species are important to understand their local and geographic spatial-temporal variability and their impact. The status and spatial variability of major Caribbean coral/octocoral diseases affecting important reef-building coral (Montastraea, Diploria, Siderastrea, Stephanocoenia, Porites, and Agaricia) and common, widespread octocoral genera (Gorgonia and Pseudopterogorgia) was assessed along 4 permanent 10 x 2 m band-transects in each of 3 depth habitats (<4, 5-12 and >15 m) on 2 reefs in 6 countries across the wider Caribbean during the summer and fall of 2005. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the spatial variability (countries, reef sites and depth habitats) in prevalence of major diseases in these genera. We found a significant interaction of disease prevalence in the different coral and octocoral genera between reef sites and habitats (depth intervals). Montastraea was primarily affected by both white plague (WP-II) and yellow band disease in deep (16.9 +/- SE 16% and 16.9 +/- SE 2.3%) and intermediate (8.1 +/- SE 1.6% and 15.5 +/- SE 2.3%) depth habitats of Culebrita (Puerto Rico) and Chub Cut (Bermuda), respectively. Prevalence of multiple diseases simultaneously and other compromised-health problems affecting Montastraea colonies varied between 0.2 to 2% and 0.2 to 1.8%, respectively. Agaricia and Diploria were mostly affected by WP-II (0.5 to 16%), black band disease (0.4 to 5%) and Caribbean ciliate infections (0.2 to 12%). Siderastrea and Stephanocoenia were mainly affected by dark spots disease in Curaçao, with higher prevalence in intermediate (40.5 +/- SE 6.2%) and deep (26.6 +/- SE 4.2%) habitats. Aspergillosis and other compromised-health conditions affected Gorgonia ventalina (0.2 to 8%) and other common and widespread octocoral genera (1 to 14%), respectively.

Spatial variability in distribution and prevalence of Caribbean scleractinian coral and octocoral diseases. I. Community-level analysis

Geographic assessments of coral diseases are needed to understand their local and geographic spatial-temporal variability. Coral and octocoral diseases and their prevalence were assessed along 4 permanent 10 x 2 m band-transects in each of 3 depth habitats (<4, 5-12 and >15 m) in each of 2 reefs in each of 6 countries across the wider Caribbean during the summer and fall of 2005. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance was used to test variability of major diseases and community level disease prevalence in corals and octocorals among habitats, reefs and countries. The most common and damaging diseases reported for the region were found in most reefs surveyed, but prevalence at the community level was generally low (ca. 2%) increasing from northern to southern latitudes. A significant interaction between sites (nested within country) and depth habitats was found (F = 2.1, df = 12, p = 0.02), with higher prevalence of coral diseases in deep habitats of Culebrita, Puerto Rico (14.8 +/- SE 6.5%) and in shallow habitats of Roldán, Panama (10.2 +/- SE 3.5%). The relative importance of each particular disease was dependent on site and habitat (depth intervals) (F = 1.7, df = 12, p = 0.001), with black band disease more prevalent in shallow habitats of Rita's, Bermuda (1.7 +/- SE 0.4%) and yellow band disease (YBD) more prevalent in deeper habitats of Chub Cut, Bermuda (3.7 +/- SE 0.5%). There was a significant interaction of total octocoral diseases with country and habitat (F = 2.8, df = 10, p = 0.04) with higher prevalence in deeper habitats of Curaçao (25.9 +/- SE 4.2%). Our results indicate that patterns of prevalence of coral and octocoral diseases were not consistent across the different spatial scales, showing differences produced by particular diseases and community composition present. There were no widespread epizootics, but local white plague-II and YBD epizootics were observed in Puerto Rico and other localities.