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The Bacterial Disease Hypothesis of Coral Bleaching

  • Chapter
Coral Health and Disease

Abstract

Before presenting and analyzing the evidence for the bacterial disease hypothesis of coral bleaching, it is logical to first ask the question: is coral bleaching a disease? The following definitions are instructive:

“Unhealthy conditions of an organism or part of an organism” (Oxford Dictionary)

“Any deviation from or interruption of the normal structure or function of a part, organ or system of a body as manifest by characteristics, symptoms and signs, the etiology, pathology and prognosis may be known or unknown” (Merck Medical Dictionary 2000)

“An illness of people, animals, plants, etc. caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by accident” (Cambridge Interactive Dictionary)

“A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)

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Authors
  1. Eugene Rosenberg
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology & Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Ramat Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  2. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Ramat Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rosenberg, E. (2004). The Bacterial Disease Hypothesis of Coral Bleaching. In: Rosenberg, E., Loya, Y. (eds) Coral Health and Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06414-6_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06414-6_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-05863-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-06414-6

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