Investigation of the coral disease outbreak affecting scleractinians

The goal of this work is to support DEP and the ongoing multi-agency, multi-collaborator investigation into the widespread disease outbreak along the Florida Reef Tract. The following objectives have been met or are ongoing:

1. Development of standardized protocols for coral tissue sample collections for histopathology, ultra-structural, and molecular analyses.

2. Collection of reference samples from a disease-free site in southeast Florida (with advisory assistance from the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Program, or SECREMP) and from a disease-free site south of the disease outbreak area in the Middle Florida Keys.

3. Histological slide preparation of collected samples, including preparing and shipping two sets of standard histology slides for collaborators (Thierry Work and Dr. Esther Peters) and a subset of special slides for fluorescent in-situ hybridization (Dr. Esther Peters).

4. Continuation of this investigation to provide insight of the disease(s) and potential pathogens from gross field observations using detailed morphological descriptors, and from histopathology and ultrastructure (transmission electron microscopy [TEM]) for microscopic and pathologic diagnosis in the laboratory.

5. Summary of preliminary results in a final report and outreach summary.