[Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? (Jeffrey Low)

[David Obura]

Hi all,

I have seen a similar condition but have been unsuccesful at finding my
photos right now. It was in 2003 or 2004, on a single colony of Porites
lutea at a site strongly affected by high currents and mangrove waters in
the Kiunga Marine Reserve in northern Kenya, and where there is always a
high incidence of a 'red/orange rust' that is common at other sites with
estuarine influence across East Africa (sorry I don't have the descriptive
name for this, but I have seen it in the catalogues of diseases).

The white mat appeared to me to be necrotic tissue, or perhaps a heavy mucus
impregnated with microbes, sloughing off. It was against a tissue border, so
may have initiated from contact with something at the edge of the colony. I
was not able to revisit the site within weeks to see if it progressed
through and killed the colony. My impression, but without anything solid on
this, is that it could have been a necrosis following some other insult to
the tissue in that area.

Regards,

David Obura
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