Coral Disease Identification and Information - NOAA's Coral Health and Monitoring Program

Coral Disease & Health: The Issue

coral_image1 Diseases and diminishing health condition among corals have dramatically increased in frequency and distribution over the last decade, leading to unprecedented decreases in live coral and altering the function and productivity of coral reef ecosystems. Responding to this threat requires improved scientific understanding and tools to:

Detect and assess trends in coral diseases at the necessary scales for scientific investigation and policy development.
Determine the causes and consequences of increasing disease frequency and distribution.
Evaluate possible management responses designed to mitigate the spread and affects of disease on coral reef ecosystems and their users.

CDHC: Who Are We?

The Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC) was created in 2002, in response to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force’s (USCRTF) National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. Our goal is to provide coastal and ocean managers with scientific understanding and tool coral_image2

healthy coral reef ecosystems and restore degraded ones. The CDHC is a network of field and laboratory scientists, coral reef managers, and agency representatives devoted to understanding coral health and disease. It is extensive, highly collaborative, and completely voluntary. Currently over 50 partners, including federal agencies, EPA, DOI, NOAA along with academia, non-profit and industry, contribute their time and expertise to the CDHC, while organizational infrastructure is supported by the Congressionally funded Coral Conservation Program.

The commitment to share information, ideas, and common goals led to the development of a national research plan (Coral Disease and Health: A National Research Plan) that has inspired many to seek funding and devote new resources to the study and amelioration of coral disease.

CDHC: The Vision

Our vision is "To understand and address the effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on corals in order to contribute to the preservation and protection of coral reef ecosystems". To realize this vision the CDHC serves to:

unify the coral health and disease research community
implement research priorities identified in the National Research Plan update and maintain the National Research Plan
develop tools and methodologies for diagnosis and assessment
provide an expert knowledge system for use in diagnosis and epizootiology
provide education and outreach tools to equip a new generation of coral researchers

CDHC: What are we doing?

RESEARCH- There is limited information on the physiological parameters that define healthy coral and less on coral disease dynamics. Our challenge is to expand our understanding in these areas by taking advantage of advanced technologies in funct coral_image3 ional genomics, proteomics and systems biology. The knowledge gained from this approach will position us to move aggressively toward characterizing the processes that control ecological connectivity among reefs and discover critical control points for management strategies.

Sequencing the coral genome - Sequencing a coral genome is vital if we are to elucidate disease causation and develop diagnostics for use in intervention strategies. Dr. Gary Ostrander (Univ Hawaii & CDHC member) is PI for project to sequence a scleractinian coral genome supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (USA).

EST sequences available – Over 5600 sequences have been produced from EST (expressed sequence tags) projects for Montastraea annularis, Oculina varicosa, and Porites porites and are accessible at http://www.marinegenomics.org/.
This information is vital to understanding which genes are expressed, how an organism responds to its environment, and will be key to developing diagnostic tools to assess coral health.

DIAGNOSTIC RESOURCES – There is limited application of medical knowledge or protocols to the study of coral health and disease, resulting in ambiguous and often misleading communication of findings. Compounded by inadequate diagnostic tools and insufficient application of diagnostic procedures, the challenge is to develop standardized procedures based on medical principles that clearly define the terminology, pathology and diagnostic criteria.

Setting Diagnostic Criteria- In April 2004, 45 experts in coral biology, pathology and veterinary science met to develop a framework for coral disease diagnostics by establishing clinical diagnostic criteria and case definitions for selected coral syndromes. The group also recommended guidelines for naming newly identified diseases. Resolutions include:

adopting a standardized process (Levels 1, 2, & 3) for diagnosing coral diseases
adopting a common vocabulary to describe and name gross coral lesions
learning how to establish case definitions for recognized coral diseases
recognizing that definitive diagnosis cannot be based solely on field observations, i.e., pathologies such as those observed in Gorgonians and assumed to be Aspergillosis are now referred to Gorgonian Degenerative Syndrome until evidence for Aspergillus can be confirmed in the laboratory

Diagnostic Tools Available- Consortium members have achieved significant advances in diagnostic assay development that will assist researchers in identifying coral stressors. Examples of new techniques include:

DNA probe for the White Plague agent – Dr. Laurie Richardson, Florida Atlantic University
DNA sequence analysis for the white pox agent Serratia marcescens (newly designated 'white pox serratiosis' when the presence of S. marcescens is confirmed) - Dr. Kathryn Sutherland, University of Georgia
coral immuno-competence (IMCOMP) assay to assess the presence of antimicrobial agents within coral tissue by using a modified bacterial viability assay – Craig Downs, Haereticus Environmental Laboratory

Coral Reef Ecotoxicology and Health- Clearly, coral health is affected not only by infectious agents, but also by environmental conditions and anthropogenic agents. The effects of these stressors can directly impact health status (i.e., toxicants) or exacerbate conditions to weaken coral defense mechanisms thereby increasing susceptibility to infectious agents.

The Coral Reef Ecotoxicology and Health Workshop (Bermuda, September 2003; co-sponsored with the Bermuda Biological Station for Research) focused on evaluating protocols based on standard ecotoxicology principles coupled with modified biomedical diagnostic tools for rapidly assessing pollution stress on corals. Tools were assessed for their ability to enhance both researchers’ and managers’ ability to detect and link land-based chemical pollutants to coral degradation and disease. A series of thematic workshops are planned.

SPECIALIZED RESOURCES

International Registry of Coral Pathology (IRCP) supported by NOAA, Oxford, MD, is a research tool and resource of voucher materials for the coral research community. Submission, holdings and acquisitions can be located at (http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/InternationalRegistry.htm) For more information contact Dr. Shawn McLaughlin, shawn.mclaughlin@noaa.gov
IRCP Bibliography on coral health and disease (996 citations and associated reprint collection (352 reprints): http://mrl.cofc.edu/oxford/coralreprint.html.
Annotated cnidarian biochemistry bibliography containing >2000 references and abstracts is available at http://www.coral.noaa.gov/bib/literature.shtml. The bibliography, available as an ENDNOTE library or on CD, is supported by a complete set of reprints and is accessible on an individual basis on site in Charleston, SC. Contact Dr. Sylvia Galloway, Sylvia.galloway@noaa.gov for more information.
CDHC Website and Listserve – Supported by NOAA's Coral Health and Monitoring Program at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Florida. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/ http://www.coral.noaa.gov/coral_disease/cdhc.shtml

CDHC: Educational Opportunities

Inspiring young scientists to delve into coral health and disease issues and facilitating communication of new discoveries and technologies are goals of the CDHC’s Education and Outreach Committee.

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology http://www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/.
Advanced Coral Histopathology – Case studies to develop diagnostic criteria. July 12-14, 2005.
Diseases of Corals and Other Reef Organisms– Mote Marine Laboratory, Summerland Key, Drs. Esther Peters and Robert Jonas, July 30 - August 7, 2005
2nd International Coral Reef Ecotoxicology and Health WorkshopThis year’s theme: Environmental Forensics: Linking Resource Damage and Causation Florida Keys, Biscayne National Park, Fall 2005.

CDHC: Work in Progress

Web Tool for Diagnosing Coral Disease – Diagnostic Criteria will be used to develop a web-based diagnostic tool to guide researchers through a three tiered diagnostic process to develop a preliminary diagnosis from field observations and recommend the laboratory tests necessary for confirmatory diagnosis. Nomenclature Steering Committee - Establish a committee (7-10 members) to review and evaluate all described coral diseases/syndromes and provide an accepted, standardized list of names. This committee will also establish guidelines for the review and naming of newly discovered diseases or syndromes.

Special Edition of Marine Pollution Bulletin - Expected in the Fall 2005 is a special edition of MPB dedicated to Coral Reef Ecotoxicology and Health resulting from the 2003 Bermuda Workshop (see above).

Diseases of Coral Book– Prospectus for a book titled Diseases of Coral is under consideration by Iowa State Press for publication. This book will be organized by diseases and (1) provide uniform descriptions of all known coral diseases, (2) establish diagnostic criteria, and (3) provide up-to-date information about the etiology and ecology of these diseases. Projected publication Summer 2006.

CDHC Pacific Workshop: Vision for Action. Pacific reefs are considered by some to be free of disease, yet an increasing number of reports support emerging concerns over the possibility that the health of corals on Pacific reefs are being compromised. Learning from past experiences with disease in the Caribbean, we plan to develop a “Vision for Action” that will outline a prevention strategy to avoid the devastation that afflicts Caribbean corals. Projected for Fall 2005.

Rapid Response Teams – A long-range project geared to providing local response capabilities to coral disease outbreaks. Well trained teams capable of mobilizing on short notice will be available to carry out formal disease investigations of unusual coral disease outbreak or mortality events, including potential biotic and abiotic etiologies.

Mangement and Policy Implications

The CDHC unifies the coral disease and health research community, provides direction by identifying research priorities, and encourages a new generation of coral researchers through education and outreach thus forming a solid scientific research foundation. The innovative technologies developed from these and other Consortium efforts will give scientists, resource managers, and industry new tools to identify and alleviate hidden stresses before they become environmental health crises.

CDHC National Office

The CDHC is a virtual entity, centralized within the US NOAA, Charleston, SC via the office of Dr. Cheryl Woodley. Further information about the CDHC and how to participate can be obtained by writing to Cheryl.woodley@noaa.gov.