Australian subtropical white syndrome: a transmissible, temperature-dependent coral disease

Title
Australian subtropical white syndrome: a transmissible, temperature-dependent coral disease
Publication Date
2010
Author(s)
Dalton, Steve James
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6947-4648
Email: sdalton4@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:sdalton4
Godwin, Scott Edward
Smith, Stephen D
Pereg, Lily
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
CSIRO Publishing
Place of publication
Australia
DOI
10.1071/MF09060
UNE publication id
une:7467
Abstract
Since 2000, a disease displaying white-syndrome characteristics has been observed affecting corals from the genus 'Turbinaria' in the Solitary Islands Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia. Recently termed Australian subtropical white syndrome, this disease is transmissible through direct contact and by a predatory vector, but transmission through the water column has not been observed. In aquarium experiments, progressive tissue loss, extending from the region where healthy 'Turbinaria mesenterina' fragments were in direct contact with samples of diseased coral, was noted in 66% of treatments. No tissue loss occurred in any of the controls or when healthy fragments were not in direct contact with diseased corals. Field experiments confirmed that the disease was infectious through direct contact. Further experiments showed that the rate of tissue loss was significantly higher when corals were exposed to summer temperatures (26°C). These results suggest that temperature increases predicted in most climate change models could lead to the loss of dominant coral species, displacing other organisms that rely on corals for food and shelter. Finally, the present study showed that removal of the disease margin provides a management tool to minimise coral tissue loss during an epizootic.
Link
Citation
Marine and Freshwater Research, 61(3), p. 342-350
ISSN
1448-6059
1323-1650
Start page
342
End page
350

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