The "band" diseases in coral reefs

Antonius, Arnfried

There are two "band" diseases on corals known today whcich work in very similar ways, but which exhibit a totally dfferent pathogenesis. One, the so-called black band disease, is caused by the blue-green alga Oscillatoria submembranacea in association with bacteria; the other, called white band disease, seems to be a physiological response of the coral tissue to certain traumata. For the black band disease, a tentative list of species-specific susceptibility has been established for Caribbean corals. Most prone to the disease are Diploria strigosa and Montastrea annularis, while at the other end of the scale Acropora palmata, A. cervicornis, and A. prolifera are totally resistant to black band infections. Octocorals were also found to contract black band disease, with Gorgonia ventalina and G. flabellum being the most susceptible. White band disease, so far, has not been observed on octocorals. Among scleractinians there also seems to exist a certain hierarchy of susceptibility to the white band disease. Partly it resembles black band conditions, insofar as Diploria strigosa and Montastrea annularis are again among the most vulnerable. However, in certain areas of the Caribbean, the species most often found afflicted is Acropora palmata, known to be a hundred percent resistant to the black band disease. Although so different in pathogenesis, there nevertheless exists a connection between the two "band diseases" So far, the only known mechanism of black band infections in the field are cases where the black band settles in on already existing white bands. The closely correlated seasonality of black and white bands observed in high latitude Caribbean reefs seems to confirm the interrelation of these two diseases. Abstract provided by author.

The "band" diseases in coral reefs

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