The Tribune

THE outbreak of an unknown disease threatening Florida coral reefs is on the radar of local scientists but no screenings have been conducted yet.

Earlier this week, AP News reported on a “mysterious disease” attacking Florida’s already “dwindling” reefs off Looe Key.

The disease is reportedly now the biggest and most prolonged infection for coral anywhere, believed to be caused as a result of a bacterial infection carried by currents; however, little else is known.

Scott Johnson, science officer at the Bahamas National Trust, told The Tribune: “This is still relatively new to me, we’ve heard about this disease in Florida, but I haven’t heard about any type of research that has been going on yet to check and see if our corals are being affected. So that may be in the works, but I haven’t gotten any word about that yet.”

Mr Johnson admitted there is a “possibility” the disease could reach Bahamian reefs, but said there are other man-made factors that pose a major threat to local marine life.

“Our coral reefs are always under threat because of global warming, and with global warming you don’t just have acidification of seawater, but you also have the development of new pathogens which currently are being seen now. The warmer the water, the more of an environment for disease carrying microbes,” he explained.

Agnessa Lundy, marine science officer at the Bahamas National Trust, added that BNT are in the process of monitoring coral reefs, although no screening has been carried out for this specific disease due to the lack of equipment needed.

“There are other diseases that have been around for a while that are impacting the reefs but this new disease seems to be moving fairly quicker than those, so that’s why its raising a lot for concern… (still) the likelihood of a serious epidemic is difficult to determine, because it depends on a lot of factors like the current, and the stress levels of corals,” she said.

Indira Brown, assistant fisheries officer from the science conservation unit at the Department of Marine Resources, confirmed the country is collaborating with non-profit organisations to combat coral aggregators.

All of the experts agree that a variety of factors, including pollution and ship grounding have contributed to the vulnerability of the reefs.

Lindy Knowles, senior science officer of the BNT reported: “Both diseases came from the south and worked their way north… it’s just something we have to keep an eye out for. (We have) to keep checking when we do our surveys (to see) if anything strange comes up, and familiarise our staff with the description of what the disease looks like so we can identify it if we do come across it.”