Comparing bacterial community composition of healthy and dark spot-affected Siderastrea siderea in Florida and the Caribbean.

ABSTRACT: Coral disease is one of the major causes of reef degradation. Dark Spot Syndrome (DSS) was described in the early 1990's as brown or purple amorphous areas of tissue on a coral and has since become one of the most prevalent diseases reported on Caribbean reefs. It has been identified in a number of coral species, but there is debate as to whether it is in fact the same disease in different corals. Further, it is questioned whether these macroscopic signs are in fact diagnostic of an infectious disease at all. The most commonly affected species in the Caribbean is the massive starlet coral Siderastrea siderea. We sampled this species in two locations, Dry Tortugas National Park and Virgin Islands National Park. Tissue biopsies were collected from both healthy colonies and those with dark sp

SUBMITTER: Kellogg CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4188562 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature