Coral disease outbreaks have increased over the last three decades, but their causal agents remain mostly unclear (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists). This study details a 14-month-long survey of coral colonies in which observations of the development of disease was observed in nearly half of the sampled colonies. A bimonthly qPCR method was used to quantitatively and qualitatively evalu...

Surveys for lesions in corals were conducted at seven sites around Tutuila in June 2004 and January 2005. The objectives of the study were to document the distribution and prevalence of disease in the major genera of corals and crustose coralline algae, systematically describe gross and microscopic morphology of lesions in reef corals and determine whether there are seasonal differences in prev...

BACKGROUND Coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystems in the marine realm, and they not only contribute a plethora of ecosystem services to other marine organisms, but they also are beneficial to humankind via, for instance, their role as nurseries for commercially important fish species. Corals are considered holobionts (host + symbionts) since they are composed not only of coral polyps, b...

A major threat to coral reefs today is the phase shift to algaldominated reefs. Algae can stress corals by overgrowing and smothering them, blocking sunlight needed for photosynthesis, and enhancing microbial growth. However, the mechanisms underlying algae-coral interactions are still poorly understood. This study examined how the tumbleweed algae Dictyota sp. affects the photophysiology of th...

Coral reef metabolism underpins ecosystem function and is defined by the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, calcification, calcium carbonate dissolution. However, relationships between these physiological at organismal level their interactions with light remain unclear. We examined metabolic rates across a range photosynthesising calcifiers in Caribbean: scleractinian corals Acropora cer...

Ocean acidification (OA) poses a major threat to calcifying organisms such as reef-building corals, typically leading reduced calcification rates. Mechanisms compensate the effects of OA on coral growth may, however, involve processes other than calcification. Yet, physiological patterns mediating under are not fully understood, despite an extensive body literature characterizing changes in cor...

Abstract Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata have experienced substantial losses in coral cover throughout the Caribbean, but their hybrid ( prolifera ) appears to be increasing at some sites. The shifts relative abundance could result from hybridization with subsequent asexual fragmentation, recent increased hybridization, or a disproportionate loss parental species. Here, acroporid taxa three...