Battered By Bleaching, Florida's Coral Reefs Now Face Mysterious Disease 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 
 
 At Mote Marine Lab's Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration in the Florida Keys, Joey Mandara is like a baby sitter. But instead of children he tends to thousands of baby corals, growing in large, shallow tanks called raceways. 
 
 Mote has been doing this work for five years, raising corals from embryos into adult colonies, then planting them on Florida's reefs. Now, the emergence of a new, debilitating coral disease makes his work more important than ever. 
 
 In one raceway, Mandara says fragments of brain coral have grown quickly in this controlled environment. 
 
 "The brain coral were eight fragments," he says. "And over time, they've grown out and have now fused into each other, becoming one coral that will hopefully over time become sexually mature." 
 
 Mote lab's science director Erinn Muller calls such progress "our beacon of hope." 
 
 Around the world, coral reefs are facing trouble. Coral bleaching, due in part to rising ocean temperatures, has stressed reefs, leaving them weakened and susceptible to disease. Now, in Florida, scientists are struggling to combat a mysterious disease that's threatening the future of the world's third largest coral reef. 
 
 In just four years, the so-far unidentified disease has already had a dramatic impact on Florida's reef tract, which extends some 360 miles down the state's Atlantic coast. Muller says it appears to be a bacterial disease, and for about half of the state's species of coral it's deadly. 
 
 "When they're affected by this, the tissue sloughs off the skeleton," she says. "And we see that once a coral is infected, it usually kills the entire coral, sometimes within weeks. And it doesn't seem to stop." 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Greg Allen/NPR Greg Allen/NPR 
 
 A 'local extinction' that's on the move 
 
 William Precht was one of the first scientists to spot the outbreak and the impact it was having on corals. In 2014, he was hired by the state to monitor the health of reefs off the port of Miami, where a dredging project was underway. He saw the disease move from one patch of coral to another. 
 
 Precht says it's proved especially deadly for species of brain and star coral, which form the foundation for many reefs. In some areas now, he says almost all of those corals are dead. 
 
 "This is essentially equivalent to a local extinction, an ecological extirpation of these species locally," he says. "And when you go out and swim on the reefs of Miami-Dade County today, it would be a very rare chance encounter that you'd see some of these three or four species." 
 
 Scientists believe ocean currents help spread the disease. Since it was first discovered, it's moved north, affecting reefs all the way up to the St. Lucie inlet. It's now moving south, through the Florida Keys. 
 
 A large number of researchers are working to tackle the disease on many fronts. Some are using DNA analysis to try to identify the pathogens involved. Muller of Mote Marine says others are looking for ways to stop the disease from spreading. 
 
 "Anything from... looking at chlorine-laced epoxy as an antiseptic, and even looking at how antibiotics interact with the disease," she says. "Because if it is bacterial, then antibiotics would be a way to stop it." 
 
 This disease outbreak is the latest blow to a reef system that has been stressed and battered by decades of development, poor water quality and rising sea temperatures. After a long decline in Florida, coral reefs have been decimated, leaving too few species to successfully reproduce and rebuild the population on their own. 
 
 That's why Muller believes the best hope now is to raise healthy corals in the lab and transplant them onto reefs. "We're really at a critical juncture right now, where we have corals left on the reef," she says. "Before we lose more corals, now is the time to start making a change." 
 
 Mote Marine Lab hopes to plant 35,000 of its lab-raised corals onto reefs in the Keys this year. Muller says so far, corals raised in the lab have shown resistance to the mystery disease, giving scientists hope they may yet be able to save Florida's reefs. ||||| Coral Disease Outbreak Across Florida Reef Tract 
 
 (2014-present) 
 
 
 
 
 
 Florida’s coral reefs are experiencing a multi-year outbreak of coral disease. While disease outbreaks are not unprecedented, this event is unique due to the number of coral species affected across a large portion of the Florida Reef Tract, and the ongoing nature of the event. The disease outbreak is highly prevalent and is estimated to have resulted in the mortality of millions of corals. In fall 2014, isolated sites with significant coral disease were reported near Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County by DEP’s Coral Reef Conservation Program staff as well as local scientists. By fall 2015, widespread disease was confirmed across approximately 55 linear miles of reef, including locations as far north as Pompano Beach in Broward County and as far south as Biscayne National Park with a few isolated reports in Palm Beach County. Disease continued to spread north and south into the Florida Keys throughout 2016, and by summer of 2017 reports of widespread disease were confirmed as far north as St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County and to the southern boundary of the upper Keys. In 2018 the disease front reached Looe Key, in the lower Keys (Figure 1). 
 
 
 
 
 
 For a general FAQ involving the disease outbreak, please click here . 
 
 For a summarization of the disease and response efforts click here . 
 
 
 
 
 
 Response Efforts 
 
 Since 2015, DEP and numerous partners from federal, state and local governments, universities, nongovernmental organizations and the South Florida community have been communicating regularly and working together on a multifaceted response effort to: 
 
 Document the distribution, prevalence, severity and impacts associated with the disease outbreak; 
 
 Identify likely pathogens; 
 
 Understand potentially contributory environmental factors; 
 
 Experiment with treatments and other interventions; 
 
 Seek additional capacity and funding to support more comprehensive response efforts; and 
 
 Facilitating stakeholder assistance by creating a region-wide Reef Ambassador program and maintaining SEAFAN and C-OCEAN citizen science programs. 
 
 The exact cause and contributing factors for this event will likely take years to identify; however, addressing other known coral stressors (i.e., water quality, turbidity and sedimentation, etc.) will increase the ability of the corals to recover. For information on how you can help the corals recover, check out our Coral Reef Ambassador Initiative page! 
 
 
 
 
 
 Regional Coordination Calls 
 
 To improve communication about the status of the coral disease outbreak and coordination among reef managers, scientists and interested members of the community regarding these response efforts, DEP initiated coordination phone calls in summer 2015. Although initially focused on mainland southeast Florida where the disease outbreak originated, these coordination calls were re-established during summer 2016 to include the entire Florida Reef Tract and are currently ongoing. Follow the links below to review a meeting summary from any of these calls: 
 
 Regional Southeast Florida Calls: 
 
 Florida Reef Tract-Wide Calls: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Completed Projects 
 
 
 
 
 
 Disease Workshop (July 24-25, 2017) 
 
 DEP’s Florida Coastal Office staff partnered with coral disease experts Great Aeby from the University of Hawaii and Blake Ushijima from Oregon State University to deliver a two-day coral disease workshop. Approximately 125 participants representing a variety of agencies, organizations, universities and the South Florida community attended. The workshop included information on coral disease identification, ecology and investigation techniques. To review the workshop material and recordings, please follow the links below: 
 
 For 508-Compliant versions, please email Kristi.Kerrigan@dep.state.fl.us. 
 
 Disease Planning Workshops (November 6-8, 2017) 
 
 DEP’s Florida Coastal Office Southeast Region collaborated with staff from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to lead a three-day coral disease workshop to discuss the next phase of coral disease response efforts. Made possible by funds appropriated by the Florida Legislature and Governor Scott, the workshop was attended by approximately 40 participants, including leading coral disease scientists and animal health experts. To review the summaries and objectives from these workshops, please see below and click on the following links: 
 
 Intervention Methodologies Workshop: November 6, 2017 
 
 Objectives: (1) Discuss coral disease intervention and treatment methodologies, and identify the constraints that may limit them from application. (2) Collaborate with animal health experts regarding additional data needs or other strategies to proceed with interventions within the current regulatory framework. 
 
 Priority Sampling Plan Workshop: November 7-8, 2017 
 
 Objectives: (1) Create a Florida Reef Tract-wide coral disease priority sampling plan, to include both single event biological collections and fixed station assessment. (2) Develop a plan for how existing and future samples should be analyzed across all disciplines and identify labs/personnel with the expertise to complete those analyses. 
 
 Have you observed coral disease on the Florida Reef Tract? 
 
 Report coral disease observations anywhere in Florida to SEAFAN: 
 
 In-house graphic-Southeast Florida Submit report button.jpg 
 
 If you want to learn more about this coral disease outbreak, please follow this link for a full detailed summary. ||||| Photo 
 
 SYDNEY, Australia — Scientists surveying the Great Barrier Reef said Tuesday that it had suffered the worst coral die-off ever recorded after being bathed this year in warm waters that bleached and then weakened the coral. 
 
 About two-thirds of the shallow-water coral on the reef’s previously pristine, 430-mile northern stretch is dead, the scientists said. Only a cyclone that reduced water temperatures by up to three degrees Celsius in the south saved the lower reaches of the 1,400-mile reef from damage, they added. 
 
 On some atolls in the north, all the coral has died, said Prof. Terry Hughes, the director of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Townsville, in the eastern state of Queensland. Professor Hughes and a team of scientists drew their findings from about 900 dive surveys along the length of the reef in October and November. 
 
 “The good news is that in the south, only about 1 percent of the reef’s coral has died, and the mortality rate in the middle is about 6 percent,” Professor Hughes said. Vibrant color has returned to that coral, and the reef there is in good condition, he added. 
 
 “But in the north, mortality rates are very high, and in some places where coral has survived but it has weakened, the per capita predation rate has gone through the roof,” he said. Masses of Drupella snails could be seen swarming around and eating the remaining healthy coral, he said. 
 
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 The bleaching was the third such event known to strike the reef, which extends along almost the entire eastern coast of Queensland and is listed as a natural World Heritage Site by the United Nations. 
 
 Steven Miles, Queensland’s environment minister, called the bleaching a tragedy. “In the north we have a very high coral death rate,” Mr. Miles said at a news conference in Brisbane, the state capital. “The tragedy of this is that the northern sections were the sections least impacted by human impacts, and to see those sections, two-thirds of the northern section, dead is catastrophic.” 
 
 However, he said, the reef “is a very big system, and the mortality rate varies substantially.” 
 
 Mr. Miles and the federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, who also oversees energy policy in Australia, said Friday that 45 million Australian dollars, about $33.6 million, would be provided to improve water quality and reduce sediment runoff. 
 
 That announcement precedes a government report, due to be submitted to the United Nations by Thursday, on the health of the reef and the government’s management of threats to it. 
 
 In May 2015 the United Nations stopped short of putting the reef on an “in danger” list, but it warned that climate change, water pollution and the effects of coastal development were all detrimental. 
 
 “The government has a staunch commitment to conserving this amazing natural asset,” Mr. Frydenberg said in a written statement on Friday. 
 
 Photo 
 
 Some scientists and environmental advocates have criticized the government’s efforts to protect the reef, saying they have fallen far short. They have also pointed to a seeming contradiction in the wishes of the Queensland government to protect the reef even as it pushes ahead with plans to develop the Carmichael coal mine, the country’s biggest, which lies less than 200 miles inland in the Galilee Basin. 
 
 “Spending $45 million to improve water quality on the reef is like putting a Band-Aid on a person who has cancer,” said William Steffen, a climate scientist at the Australian National University College of Medicine, Biology and Environment. 
 
 As custodian of the reef, the government has an obligation to manage one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, Dr. Steffen said. “It is nonsense to think we can open up a new coal mine and think we are going to save coral reefs.” 
 
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 This month, Australia ratified the Paris climate agreement to limit pollution to stop the Earth’s warming by more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, or 2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. 
 
 Environmentalists have unsuccessfully tried to block the development of the enormous mine. Other countries have pledged to reduce the use of fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. Burning coal is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
 Coral in the north was “cooked” as water temperatures rose about two degrees, Professor Hughes of James Cook University said. “That coral did not bleach and die slowly.” 
 
 Coral in slightly cooler waters bleached more slowly, expelling the tiny algae that give it its color. If the water then cooled quickly enough, the algae returned to recolonize the coral, which recovered. 
 
 Cyclone Winston, which passed over Fiji in late February before dissipating as it hit the coast of Queensland, brought a change in water temperatures that helped preserve the coral at the south end of the reef. 
 
 Mr. Frydenberg said Friday that about 22 percent of the entire reef’s coral had died after the bleaching event. But he added that coral cover had increased around 19 percent in the years leading up to it, a figure that Professor Hughes disputes. 
 
 “The Great Barrier Reef is very resilient and quite strong,” Mr. Frydenberg said in an email on Tuesday. “The Australian and Queensland governments have a Reef 2050 plan, which will see $2 billion invested over the next decade in order to improve the health of the reef.” 
 
 Greg Torda, a coral researcher at James Cook University, said the biodiversity of the reef had been severely compromised in some regions because flat, or tabletop, and branching corals had died. These corals provide structure for small fish to hide from predators. “Bigger boulder corals, some hundreds of years old, provide light and shade for fish in reef habitats,” Dr. Torda said. “Reefs are structurally very complex, and all shapes on the reef provide important diversity.” 
 
 Reefs that are damaged tend to flatten out, losing habitat and then species diversity over decades. “We will have a reef in 30 years’ time, but the species along the reef are already shifting,” Professor Hughes said. “And we are already seeing less diversity.”
– Something is turning healthy coral into ghostly skeletons along the Florida Reef Tract. As the third-largest barrier reef in the world, the 360-mile stretch of vitally important sea life provides a buffet of nutrients for plants and animals along the state's Atlantic coast. Now, scientists are racing to find a cure, as detailed in a piece by NPR. To be sure, reefs are struggling worldwide, and coral diseases have been rising over the last decade, per NOAA, probably caused by pollution and rising ocean temperatures, which provide a warm home for pathogens. But growing swathes of coral from as far north as Pompano Beach in Broward County to as far south as Biscayne National Park are turning into watery graveyards, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection says in a report. Since 2015 the department has been working with a team of federal, state, and local groups to identify the likely pathogen, find a treatment, and address underlying problems—but that identification hasn't yet happened. Scientist William Precht, who was hired by the state to monitor the health of reefs off the port of Miami, has watched the disease move from one patch of coral to another. He says that whatever is killing the coral is especially deadly for brain and star coral, which create the underlying structure for many reefs. The death of the coral, he tells NPR, is having a lasting impact. "When you go out and swim on the reefs of Miami-Dade County today, it would be a very rare chance encounter that you'd see some of these three or four species." (There's bad news about the Great Barrier Reef, too.)