Diseases and partial mortality in Montastraea annularis species complex in reefs with differing environmental conditions (NW Caribbean and Gulf of México)

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

Eric Jordán-Dahlgren¹  Rosa Elisa Rodríguez-Martínez¹  Miguel Angel Maldonado¹ 

关键词: Coral;    Disease;    Prevalence;    Mortality;    Local impacts;    Regional impacts;   

DOI  :  10.3354/dao063003

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: We documented the prevalence of diseases, syndromes and partial mortality in colonies of the Montastraea annularis species complex on 3 reefs, and tested the assumption that a higher prevalence of these parameters occurs when reefs arecloser to point-sources of pollution. One reef was isolated from the impact of local factors with the exception of fishing, 1 potentially influenced by local industrial pollutants, and 1 influenced by local urban pollution. Two reefs were surveyed in 1996and again in 2001 and 1 in 1998 and again in 2001. In 2001, colonies on all reefs had a high prevalence of the yellow-band syndrome and a relatively high degree of recent partial mortality, while the prevalence of black-band and white-plague diseases waslow; although a new sign, that we named thin dark-line, had relatively high prevalence in all reefs. As no direct relationship was found between disease prevalence and local environmental quality, our results open the possibility that regional and/orglobal factors may already be playing an important role in the prevalence of coral disease in the Caribbean, and contradict the theory that coral disease prevalence is primarily related to local environmental degradation. Reasons that may partiallyexplain these findings are the high level of potential pathogen connectivity within the Caribbean as a result of its circulation patterns coupled to the large land-derived pollutants and pathogens input into this Mediterranean sea; together with thesurface water warming effects which stress corals and enhance pathogen activity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown