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CORAL DISEASE AND HEALTH: A NATIONAL RESEARCH PLAN National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
In Cooperation with Federal, State, Academic,
Non-profit Marine Laboratories and Industry Partners
September, 2003
CORAL DISEASE AND HEALTH:
A NATIONAL RESEARCH PLAN Photo Credits-
Images were provided by: Biscayne National Park - Richard Curry; FDA - Sherry Curtis; Hawaii Institute
of Marine Biology - Teresa Lewis; Johns Hopkins University
-
Gary Ostrander; Medical Univ. of South
Carolina
-
Sara Polson, Shawn Polson;

NOAA AOML, Miami - Monica Gurnee, Jim Hendee; NOAA
CCEHBR, Charleston - John Bemiss, Marie DeLorenzo, Cheryl Woodley, Darren Wray; NOAA CCEHBR,
Oxford - Dorothy Howard, Shawn McLaughlin, Kathy Price; NOAA Fisheries, Miami - Charles Fasano;
NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, - Andy Bruckner; NOAA, NESDIS, Silver Spring - Gang Lui, Al Strong;
Tel Aviv Univ. - Eugene Rosenberg; TetraTech - Esther Peters; USGS - Paul Mendenwaldt, Thierry Work;
Virgin Islands National Park - Jeff Miller; Waikiki Aquarium, Univ. Hawaii, Manoa - Cindy Hunter.
Cover Photos: Montastraea faveolata with white plague, Bonaire, 2001 (photo by Andrew Bruckner);
diver surveying M. annularis for white plague in Virgin Islands National Park (photo by Jeff Miller); coral
tissue destruction by algal turf on the skeleton of a colony of Stephanocoenia intersepta. Stained with Harris's
hematoxylin and eosin (photomicrograph by Esther Peters).
Back page: Red-band disease on a sea fan; white-band disease on Acropora palmata; partially bleached
Diploria labyrinthiformis; dark-spots disease on Siderastrea siderea; yellow-blotch disease on Montastraea
faveolata; spot biting by Sparisoma viride on M. annularis; white plague on Diploria strigosa and black-
band disease on M. faveolata (all photos by Andrew Bruckner).
Citation-
Please cite this report as follows:
Woodley, C.M., A.W. Bruckner, S.B. Galloway, S.M. McLaughlin, C.A. Downs, J.E. Fauth, E.B. Shotts
and K.L. Lidie. 2003. Coral Disease and Health: A National Research Plan. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD. 72 pp.
Editors Acknowledgements -
This document was prepared and printed with support from NOAA
through the Coral Conservation Program and the Living Oceans Foundation. Layout and design was provided
by Andrew Bruckner, NOAA Fisheries. Sylvia Galloway and Cheryl Woodley, NOAA CCEHBR and Andrew
Bruckner, NOAA Fisheries compiled working group reports and provided technical edits.
About This Document TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 1
PREFACE.......... 5
I.
INTRODUCTION. 7
II.
BIOLOGY.. 9
III.
DISEASE IDENTIFICATION AND DISEASE INVESTIGATION....... 17
IV.
DIAGNOSTICS 23
V.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING INFECTIVITY AND
SUSCEPTIBLITY. 35
VI.
SUMMARY 49
VII.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.. 51
VIII. REFERENCES.. 53
IX.
WORKSHOP AGENDA... 56
X.
PARTICIPANTS 58
XI. APPENDICES 62
Appendix I: CDHC Mission, Objectives, Partners and Structure . 62
Appendix II: Time Lines for Objectives 64
Appendix III: Recommended CDHC Committees and Participants 66 1
Coral diseases have not been thoroughly characterized
and etiologies, including many of the causative agents
remain uncertain. In an effort to form a cohesive national
strategy to conserve and protect these ecosystems, the
federal government was directed to strengthen its
stewardship of the nations reef ecosystems and coral
reefs around the world. This executive order, issued by
President William Jefferson Clinton on June 11, 1998,
resulted in the establishment of the United States Coral
Reef Task Force (CRTF). A collective response was
produced by this Task Force in the form of a National
Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs, which represents
the road map for U.S. coral reef conservation efforts.
This was followed by a National Coral Reef Action
Strategy, which is a report to Congress that fulfills the
requirements of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000
and helps track implementation of the National Action
Plan. Conservation actions of this plan and strategy
encompassed two fundamental themes: an understanding
of coral reef ecosystems and a reduction of the adverse
impacts of human activities. To fill a gap in our
understanding of the rapidly emerging threats to reefs
worldwide, the CRTFs Working Group on Ecosystem
Science and Conservation recommended the formation
of a Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC). The
primary objectives of the CDHC are to organize and
coordinate scientific resources nationally and
internationally to address coral health issues, with
emphasis on the diagnosis, etiology and epizootiology of
coral diseases and bleaching.
Many of the emerging coral diseases have not been
fully characterized such as yellow-blotch disease (YBD),
shown here. Outbreaks of YBD have been reported from
several Caribbean localities, primarily affecting star
corals in the genus Montastraea; little is known about
causes or long-term impact. (Photo: Andy Bruckner).
CORAL DISEASE AND HEALTH: A NATIONAL RESEARCH PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The health and continued existence of coral reef ecosystems are threatened by an increasing array of environmental
and anthropogenic impacts. These causes of decline, including global climate change, invasive species, shoreline
development, habitat destruction, polluted runoff, sedimentation and over-exploitation overwhelm the natural
plasticity of these systems and have contributed to an estimated loss of 27% of the worlds reefs. If current
pressure continues unabated, nearly 60% of the worlds reefs may be lost by 2030, due to reduced coral
growth rates, bleaching, disease outbreaks and increased mortality. These ecosystems, which are among the
most complex and biologically diverse habitats on earth, provide economic and environmental services to
millions of people worldwide. In order to preserve and protect these ancient marine ecosystems, an understanding
of the effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on reef-building coral communities is essential. 2
Regional and global bleaching
events have increased in
frequency since the mid 1980s
with widespread mortality
observed with the 1998
bleaching event. Bleaching
has been correlated with a wide
range of environmental and
physiological stresses, but its
physiological mechanisms are
not fully understood.
Bleached colony of
Montastraea faveolata (left)
regains most of its
pigmentation (right) six months
later. (Photos: Andy Bruckner).
environmental influences that affect these phenomena. A number
of nationally recognized experts in the areas of biology, ecology,
pathology, coral disease, biochemistry, molecular biology, cellular
physiology, environmental microbiology, human and veterinary
medicine and biotechnology were selected to represent critical
scientific disciplines. Position papers, on 10 relevant topics and
written by participants, were distributed and formed the basis for
discussion within four working groups. The working groups were
organized around four themes: Biology, Environmental Factors
Affecting Infectivity and Susceptibility, Disease Identification
and Disease Investigation, and Diagnostics. Participants were
The first official meeting of the CDHC was convened in Charleston, South Carolina, from January 22-25,
2002. This workshop brought scientists, resource managers, and regulatory officials together to identify gaps
in our understanding of the causes of the worldwide coral reef decline; provide a coordinated focal point for
research on and tracking of the occurrence and progression of bleaching and disease events; and help identify
Plenary session at the first CDHC Workshop
in Charleston, SC. (Photo: Darren Wray).
divided among the working groups according to their areas of expertise. Roundtable discussions within groups
were convened over a three-day period. Conclusions of the working groups were presented to all participants
in one plenary session. 3
Many strategic research objectives were identified. The major objectives can be summarized as follows:
Establishment of standard terminology, methodology and protocols: There is limited application of
human and veterinary medical knowledge to the study of coral health and disease; standard medical
terminology has not been used in descriptive interpretations of clinical anomalies noted during field collections
or in the laboratory, resulting in ambiguous and often misleading communication of findings. This is
compounded by inadequate diagnostic tools and a deficiency in consistent, comprehensive monitoring,
assessment and collection protocols. A review of the existing and emerging coral disease syndromes that
institutes clinical diagnostic criteria, including visual and descriptive details is paramount to understanding and
combating coral disease.
Expansion of knowledge in basic coral physiology, biology and disease etiology: There is limited
information on the physiological parameters that define healthy coral and even less on coral disease dynamics.
By expanding our understanding in areas of cellular physiology, genomics and proteomics we will be able to (1)
define baseline measures of coral health and vitality such as non-stress levels and deviations that indicate an
altered state; (2) identify normal changes in physiol