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Florida's mystery coral-killer identified

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Abstract

An unusual coral disease appeared on the Florida Reef Tract in June 1995. It was distinct in its microbiology, its pattern of tissue degradation, the species susceptible to it, and its regional distribution. Symptoms included a sharp line between healthy and diseased tissue, as occurs with other coral diseases, but the pathogen responsible for the new outbreak seemed more virulent, affected a wider variety of species, and destroyed tissue much more rapidly than these other ‘line’ or ‘band’ diseases. We have identified the pathogen responsible for this new disease as a new species of Sphingomonas.

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Figure 1: Diseased corals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, 33199, Florida, USA

    Laurie L. Richardson, Walter M. Goldberg & Kevin G. Kuta

  2. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, PO Box 369, Dauphin Island, 36528, Alabama, USA

    Richard B. Aronson

  3. Department of Biology, University of South Carolina, Aiken, 29801, South Carolina, USA

    Garriet W. Smith

  4. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27599, North Carolina, USA

    Kim B. Ritchie

  5. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Key Largo, 33037, Florida, USA

    John C. Halas

  6. NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Dania, 33004, Florida, USA

    Joshua S. Feingold

  7. University of North Carolina at Wilmington, National Undersea Research Center, Wilmington, 28403, North Carolina, USA

    Steven L. Miller

Authors
  1. Laurie L. Richardson
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  2. Walter M. Goldberg
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  3. Kevin G. Kuta
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  4. Richard B. Aronson
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  5. Garriet W. Smith
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  6. Kim B. Ritchie
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  7. John C. Halas
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  8. Joshua S. Feingold
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  9. Steven L. Miller
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Richardson, L., Goldberg, W., Kuta, K. et al. Florida's mystery coral-killer identified. Nature 392, 557–558 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/33302

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