Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) Reconnaissance, Intervention, and Monitoring in Dry Tortugas National Park

This report describes the reconnaissance, intervention, and monitoring efforts conducted at Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) prior to the arrival of SCTLD in May 2021 and for approximately one year thereafter. Prior to the first documentation of SCTLD in the Park, coral health and demographic data were collected at 30 priority reconnaissance sites to serve as a baseline for tracking reef-wide and Park-wide changes following disease onset. Between reconnaissance, intervention, and monitoring work, Park staff and partners completed over 500 hours of project-related work underwater, excluding the large liveaboard missions. As SCTLD continues to impact DRTO, the continuation of these activities will be essential to inform Park-level adaptive management efforts, provide information about SCTLD progression and impacts at a reef-wide scale, and guide management actions at locations that are impacted by similar outbreaks in the future.