CORAL DISEASE

Jan 2004-May 2006 (CCMI Sponsored Research)

Diseases such as Black-band and White Plague (Type II) have become the most important recognized cause of coral death on Caribbean coral reefs today.

A study of the spread and distribution of these diseases is critical to understanding their long-term impact and to investigating possible methods for preventing further infection and loss.

Associations between disease outbreaks and human factors have been tentatively made although a large-scale, detailed study specifically addressing these associations has yet to be completed due to the logistical difficulties involved in surveying extensive reef environments.

However, Little Cayman provides a unique opportunity for studying the dynamics of disease distribution and spread on a more detailed scale that can then be compared and applied to more extensive reef systems such as the Florida Keys reefs.

Though small in size, the reefs of Little Cayman are well developed and exhibit all of the dynamics and qualities that are necessary for comparison to larger reef systems (i.e. diverse community assemblages and the presence of important coral diseases).

A more detailed documentation of human and environmental influences that could be important to disease causation is possible because of the small geographic extent of the island.

The information provided by this study will be critical for both scientists and managers in understanding and possibly controlling the spread of this most common cause of coral death.

The future of coral reefs in the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean at large may well depend on how coral disease is addressed today.