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Coral
Disease Identification and Information Main | Types | Ecology | Pathogen | Verification Disease Overview Plague is characterized by a sharp line between apparently healthy coral tissue and freshly exposed coral skeleton. There is no obvious microbial band present. Plague is caused by the bacterial pathogen Aurantimonas coralicida, gen nov. sp. nov. (Denner et al., IJSEM, in press). Disease signs (rate and pattern of disease progression and virulence) vary between three distinct types. Plague Type I, documented in the 1970s and 1980s, starts at the sides of colonies, with tissue destruction at a rate of 3 mm/day. Six species were reported to be affected (Dustan, 1977, Dustan and Halas, 1987). Plague Type II, first documented in 1995, starts at the base of a coral colony and progresses upward, with tissue destruction up to 2 cm/day. A bleached zone between healthy tissue and exposed skeleton (<3 mm) may be present (Richardson et al. 1998a,b). Plague type III, first seen in 1999, starts on the sides or top of colonies and destroys tissue at high rates of dm/day. It is found on massive Montastraea annularis and Colpophyllia natans. Plague is currently epidemic throughout the Caribbean, and affects 33 sp. of Caribbean scleractinian corals (Weil et al, in press). The reservoir is not known.
Plague (synonym: white plague) *** Click images to view full sized high resolution image ***
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