Transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in simulated ballast water confirms the potential for ship-born spread.

ABSTRACT: Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) remains an unprecedented epizootic disease, representing a substantial threat to the persistence and health of coral reef ecosystems in the Tropical Western Atlantic since its first observation near Miami, Florida in 2014. In addition to transport between adjacent reefs indicative of waterborne pathogen(s) dispersing on ocean currents, it has spread throughout the Caribbean to geographically- and oceanographically-isolated reefs, in a manner suggestive of ship and ballast water transmission. Here we evaluate the potential for waterborne transmission of SCTLD including via simulated ballast water, and test the efficacy of commonly-used UV radiation treatment of ballast water. Two species of reef-building corals (Orbicella faveolata and Pseudodiploria

SUBMITTER: Studivan MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9649619 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature