Oxygen and sulfide dynamics in a horizontally migrating cyanobacterial mat: black band disease of corals
Carlton RG and Richardson LL. 1995. Oxygen and sulfide dynamics in a horizontally migrating cyanobacterial mat: black band disease of corals. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 18:155-162
Includes methods, results and discussion on a study conducted on coral disease in the Caribbean. Black band disease is caused by a horizontally migrating microbial consortium which overgrows and kills reef-building corals in many areas of the world. The cyanobacterium Phormidium corallyticum, the sulfide-oxidizing bacterium Beggiatoa sp., fungi, and sulfate-reducing bacteria dominate the consortiu,. which is generally several mm to 1 cm in width and cs. 1 mm in thickness. Microelectrode measurements revealed photosynthetically produced O-supersaturation in upper layers during day, although conditions at the band-coral interface were consistently anoxic and, at night, sulfide-rich. Diel distributions of oxygen and sulfide resembled those from cyanobacterial mats in sulfur springs, intertidal mats and hypersaline lagoons.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Carlton, R.; Richardson, L.
- Units
- BISC
- Keywords
- Bacteria, Biofilm, Black band, Chemistry, Coral Disease, Coral Reef, Cyanobacteria, Microbiology, microelectrode, Oxygen (O), Phormidium, sulfide, Sulfur (S), sulfur cycle