Coral Health and Disease in the Pacific: Vision for Action

WORLD BANK PROJECT: CORAL DISEASE WORKING GROUPBette WillisJames Cook UniversitySchool of Marine Biology and AquacultureJames Cook UniversityTownsville Queensland 4811, Australiabette.willis@jcu.edu.auCRTR Coral Disease Working Group(excerpted from the CRTR webpage - http://www.gefcoral.org/)Coral reefs are under increasing stress from a number of causes, including climatewarming, poor water quality and over fishing. Disease outbreaks cause not only coralloss, but they can result in significant changes in community structure, species diversityand reef-associated organisms. Coral diseases potentially impact both well-managed andunmanaged reefs indiscriminately. However, strategies for dealing with diseaseoutbreaks are currently non-existent. The increasing frequency with which diseasesinfluence and alter reef communities means they must be considered and incorporatedinto management plans.Background:The CRTR Program is a partnership between the Global Environment Facility, the WorldBank, The University of Queensland (Australia), the United States National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA), and approximately 50 research institutes and otherthird parties around the world. The CRTR Coral Disease Working Group’s research willprovide us with a greater understanding of the ways in which coral diseases can alter reeffunction and the conditions under which outbreaks may occur.Global impact of coral diseaseCoral disease stands out as a primary factor in the deterioration of many coral reefsworldwide, with preliminary surveys indicating that significant and damaging newdiseases are now beginning to appear in all reef regions. The CRTR Program DiseaseWorking Group is conducting a global coral disease census across 24 high priority sites.This major assessment is designed to catalogue syndromes for the first time, and to revealwhether disease outbreaks are correlated with climate warming anomalies. In eachlocation the impact and prevalence of coral disease is being measured.Global warming and anthropogenic inputsIncreases in disease following warming events may be because corals have lower abilityto fight disease while under temperature stress, or because bacteria are more virulent.While connections between poor water quality (nutrient loading and sedimentation) anddisease are of increasing concern, evidence of direct links and synergistic effects islimited. The CRTR Program Disease Working Group is measuring nitrogen and sedimentloading at key research sites. The team will use molecular and enzymatic techniques toassess differences in microbial communities - in coral mucus, water and sediment122