Also in the same issue of the Bonaire Reporter is an editorial by Dee Scarr, noted environmentalist and conservationist.
Reef Glimpses by Dee Scarr Covid v SCTLD
Remember how nasty Covid-19 was at the beginning?
Seriously, think back. Remember all those guidelines from reliable sources, guidelines that changed daily, or that contradicted each other? Imagine how bad Covid would have been with these four not-so-little differences: 1. It infected not just people, but most mammals. 2. Community members were physically unable to leave their communities in any way. 3. Community members were unable to filter their breathing or disinfect anything. 4. Once any community (of people, of prairie dogs, of cattle) became infected, almost every individual in the entire community died within weeks if not more quickly.
Please, take a moment to imagine this.
When I first wondered about how Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD for short in writing, spoken as “skittle-d”, or more often “that d..n skittle-d”) would compare with Covid, I was astonished to realize how much worse the SCTLD is than Covid, except that Covid attacks people and SCTLD attacks corals. Thank goodness the two horrors didn’t attack simultaneously…
SCTLD is currently being fought on two major fronts: first, using a version of antibiotic paste mixture on diseased corals, which is likely to stop the disease from progressing where it is applied. Unfortunately, though, the antibiotic paste doesn’t necessarily protect the rest of the same coral colony, which may become diseased elsewhere and die anyway.
A second front for battling SCTLD is by securing potential breeding populations of the affected corals. That sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Until you realize it means that people who have spent decades protecting corals will be deliberately breaking perfectly healthy coral colonies, and transporting chunks of them to aquaria. Their goal is to keep the corals alive to repopulate the Caribbean, should the corals be completely wiped out in the wild. Something recognized less than ten years ago is believed to be on its way to destroying dozens of types of coral. It sounds more like science fiction than reality, but it’s reality and startling evidence as to how seriously this disease is being taken.
A third front against SCTLD is that of doing everything possible to keep unaffected corals healthy, including lessening the impact of divers. Bonaire is one of the few places where this kind of protection can be established. We’ll be able to tell future generations about how we protected the coral on Klein Bonaire and our north coast, simply by leaving it alone for a while, and how we disinfected our gear to protect other areas.
In fewer than twenty years, SCTLD has threatened around 30 different species of coral with extinction. It was officially recognized as being on Bonaire only this year. What does its presence mean? What’s the significance of stony coral dying? The answer is simple:
Stony corals build the reef.
When stony corals die, their unprotected skeletons are worn down by boring sponges, encrusting algae, algae-eaters like parrotfish and damselfish, and all sorts of other organisms. Over time, the dead reef shrinks; its cracks and crevices fill with debris, and fewer homesites are available to crabs, anemones, morays, and even cleaner gobies. Where will Lady Squid find ledges under which to attach her egg capsules? When a whole reef dies, it’s generally because of water pollution or siltation or some other physical event, and many other animals are poisoned or smothered in addition to the corals. SCTLD is different because it’s solely killing stony corals. So far, the effect of SCTLD on our reef habitats can’t be measured. Let’s hope things never get that far along.
A couple of additional thoughts. We’ve all been taking photos of SCTLDed corals, but isn’t now the time to photograph the healthy corals? All of the corals, actually; what we’re seeing is unprecedented, so any documentation will be useful. Ideas could be useful, too. My best idea at the moment is to bioengineer zooxanthella (the alga that live within coral polyps) so they kill all forms of SCTLD. Next, introduce those zoox into the at-risk corals (maybe after bleaching?). Each coral colony would then be protected by its own algal army. That’s some serious symbiosis!
Now, if it could only be reality!
What’s your idea?
Dee has been guiding divers on Bonaire since 1982. She’s written about her undersea experiences in her books, Touch the Sea, The Gentle Sea, and Coral’s Reef (for children); in Dive Training Magazine from 1990 to 2000, with “Coral Glimpses” in the Bonaire Reporter, and now with “Reef Glimpses.” The Bonaire Reporter is delighted to bring “Reef Glimpses” to you free of charge through touchthesea.com.
Reef Glimpses by Dee Scarr Covid v SCTLD
Remember how nasty Covid-19 was at the beginning?
Seriously, think back. Remember all those guidelines from reliable sources, guidelines that changed daily, or that contradicted each other? Imagine how bad Covid would have been with these four not-so-little differences: 1. It infected not just people, but most mammals. 2. Community members were physically unable to leave their communities in any way. 3. Community members were unable to filter their breathing or disinfect anything. 4. Once any community (of people, of prairie dogs, of cattle) became infected, almost every individual in the entire community died within weeks if not more quickly.
Please, take a moment to imagine this.
When I first wondered about how Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD for short in writing, spoken as “skittle-d”, or more often “that d..n skittle-d”) would compare with Covid, I was astonished to realize how much worse the SCTLD is than Covid, except that Covid attacks people and SCTLD attacks corals. Thank goodness the two horrors didn’t attack simultaneously…
SCTLD is currently being fought on two major fronts: first, using a version of antibiotic paste mixture on diseased corals, which is likely to stop the disease from progressing where it is applied. Unfortunately, though, the antibiotic paste doesn’t necessarily protect the rest of the same coral colony, which may become diseased elsewhere and die anyway.
A second front for battling SCTLD is by securing potential breeding populations of the affected corals. That sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Until you realize it means that people who have spent decades protecting corals will be deliberately breaking perfectly healthy coral colonies, and transporting chunks of them to aquaria. Their goal is to keep the corals alive to repopulate the Caribbean, should the corals be completely wiped out in the wild. Something recognized less than ten years ago is believed to be on its way to destroying dozens of types of coral. It sounds more like science fiction than reality, but it’s reality and startling evidence as to how seriously this disease is being taken.
A third front against SCTLD is that of doing everything possible to keep unaffected corals healthy, including lessening the impact of divers. Bonaire is one of the few places where this kind of protection can be established. We’ll be able to tell future generations about how we protected the coral on Klein Bonaire and our north coast, simply by leaving it alone for a while, and how we disinfected our gear to protect other areas.
In fewer than twenty years, SCTLD has threatened around 30 different species of coral with extinction. It was officially recognized as being on Bonaire only this year. What does its presence mean? What’s the significance of stony coral dying? The answer is simple:
Stony corals build the reef.
When stony corals die, their unprotected skeletons are worn down by boring sponges, encrusting algae, algae-eaters like parrotfish and damselfish, and all sorts of other organisms. Over time, the dead reef shrinks; its cracks and crevices fill with debris, and fewer homesites are available to crabs, anemones, morays, and even cleaner gobies. Where will Lady Squid find ledges under which to attach her egg capsules? When a whole reef dies, it’s generally because of water pollution or siltation or some other physical event, and many other animals are poisoned or smothered in addition to the corals. SCTLD is different because it’s solely killing stony corals. So far, the effect of SCTLD on our reef habitats can’t be measured. Let’s hope things never get that far along.
A couple of additional thoughts. We’ve all been taking photos of SCTLDed corals, but isn’t now the time to photograph the healthy corals? All of the corals, actually; what we’re seeing is unprecedented, so any documentation will be useful. Ideas could be useful, too. My best idea at the moment is to bioengineer zooxanthella (the alga that live within coral polyps) so they kill all forms of SCTLD. Next, introduce those zoox into the at-risk corals (maybe after bleaching?). Each coral colony would then be protected by its own algal army. That’s some serious symbiosis!
Now, if it could only be reality!
What’s your idea?
Dee has been guiding divers on Bonaire since 1982. She’s written about her undersea experiences in her books, Touch the Sea, The Gentle Sea, and Coral’s Reef (for children); in Dive Training Magazine from 1990 to 2000, with “Coral Glimpses” in the Bonaire Reporter, and now with “Reef Glimpses.” The Bonaire Reporter is delighted to bring “Reef Glimpses” to you free of charge through touchthesea.com.
