In a surprising twist in the ongoing battle against Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), new research suggests that rising sea surface temperatures, often seen as a threat to coral, may actually slow down the spread of this highly destructive illness.
The University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, citing an article published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports broke the news. It offers a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered coral reefs of the Atlantic and Caribbean.
First detected off the coast of Miami in 2014, Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease has rapidly decimated coral populations across the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and parts of Latin America. The disease is notoriously aggressive, rapidly stripping coral tissue and leaving behind ghostly, bare skeletons.
READ MORE: Scientists transplant crossbred corals to help save Miami's reefs from climate change
Despite intensive scientific investigation, the precise cause of SCTLD remains elusive, though environmental factors like ocean warming and nutrient pollution have long been suspected of exacerbating its progression, according to the news release by Rosenstiel’s Communications Director Diana Udell.
This groundbreaking study, conducted at Rosenstiel’s Experimental Reef Lab, employed cutting-edge robotic technology to meticulously examine how different water temperatures and nutrient concentrations affect the disease. Eighty coral fragments, including the endangered Mountainous Star Coral — a crucial reef builder in the Caribbean—were exposed to a variety of controlled conditions.
The Surprising Results
The key finding was striking: SCTLD transmission was significantly lower at a higher temperature, approximately 88°F, compared to a lower temperature of 82°F.
This suggests that the scorching peak summer temperatures, often a source of stress for corals, might offer a temporary respite from the disease’s relentless march in affected regions. In contrast to temperature, elevated nutrient levels—specifically ammonium—did not appear to influence disease transmission. However, the researchers noted that high nutrient levels did impair coral growth, especially when combined with high temperatures, highlighting the complex interplay of environmental stressors.
This research, funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), highlights the crucial need to comprehend how various environmental factors influence coral diseases, thereby protecting and restoring these vital marine ecosystems.
A Breakthrough in Research Methodology
“The use of robotic automation allowed us to precisely and independently treat coral fragments with different nutrients and diseases, while keeping each fragment in its own precise isolated environment,” explained Ana Palacio, the study’s lead author and an assistant scientist at the University of Miami’s NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS).
“This breakthrough ensures reliable, contamination-free results and opens new possibilities for high-replication marine disease research at scale,” she said.
The insights gained from this study are already feeding into broader research efforts. The impacts of multiple environmental conditions on coral health will continue to be a focus of the Florida Regional Ecosystems Stressors Collaborative Assessment (FRESCA) project. This four-year initiative, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), aims to establish environmental thresholds for reef resilience amidst increasing stressors like ocean warming, acidification, and low oxygen conditions.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to expand on this work, conducting future experiments to further examine how various combined stressors may alter disease dynamics and coral health on a broader scale. While the fight against SCTLD is far from over, this unexpected discovery provides valuable new avenues for research and potential mitigation strategies in the effort to save our coral reefs.
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
