Infectious Diseases of Coral Reefs
Richardson L and Aronson R. Infectious Diseases of Coral Reefs. In Proceedings 9th International Coral Reef Symposium. Bali, Indonesia. October 23-27, 2000. Proceedings of the International Coral Reef Symposium
The continuing degradation of coral reefs throughout the world is accompanied by increasing observations of infectious diseases and disease outbreaks of corals and other coral reef benthic organisms. Microbial pathogens of both stony corals and gorgonians have been isolated and in some cases characterized. Underlying mechanisms of the pathogenesis of several diseases are being studied at the microbiological, physiological, and molecular levels. The short- and long-term ecological effects of disease outbreaks on reefs in different geographic regions are being documented as they occur. In one paleoecological study a coral disease was revealed to have caused an unprecedented alteration in community structure. Here we review recent progress in the field of coral diseases.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Richardson, Laurie; Aronson, Richard
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Health, Infection, marine ecosystem, Sick, sickness