How Microbial Community Composition Regulates Coral Disease Development

How Microbial Community Composition Regulates Coral Disease Development

Reef coral cover is in rapid decline worldwide, in part due to bleaching (expulsion of photosynthetic symbionts) and outbreaks of infectious disease. One important factor associated with bleaching and in disease transmission is a shift in the composition of the microbial community in the mucus layer surrounding the coral: the resident microbial community-which is critical to the healthy functio...

When, where and how does microbial community composition matter?

Diana R. Nemergut*, Ashley Shade and Cyrille Violle 1 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA 2 Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA 3 Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA 4 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA 5 CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS Unive...

Running head : Coral microbial communities and disease

Microbial disease and the coral holobiont.

Tropical coral reefs harbour a reservoir of enormous biodiversity that is increasingly threatened by direct human activities and indirect global climate shifts. Emerging coral diseases are one serious threat implicated in extensive reef deterioration through disruption of the integrity of the coral holobiont - a complex symbiosis between the coral animal, endobiotic alga and an array of microor...

The effects of coastal development on sponge abundance, diversity, and community composition on Jamaican coral reefs.

Over the past decade, development along the northern coast of Jamaica has accelerated, resulting in elevated levels of sedimentation on adjacent reefs. To understand the effects of this development on sponge community dynamics, we conducted surveys at three locations with varying degrees of adjacent coastal development to quantify species richness, abundance and diversity at two depths (8-10 m ...