[Coral-List] Please somebody, eat these slimy cyanobacteria all over the reefs

[Longin Kaczmarsky]

Dear Tom,
      You're right. However, Thioploca form ensheathed bundles and Thiothrix typically have have holdfasts, often forming rosetta-like structures neither of which we observed with our samples which is why I believe we felt comfortable saying they more closely resembled Beggiatoa. It's good that you brought up that distinction just the same.
               Thanks, Longin> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:13:30 +0000> From: tomgoreau at yahoo.co.uk> Subject: RE: [Coral-List] Please somebody,eat these slimy cyanobacteria all over the reefs> To: solonnie at hotmail.com; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; reefteam2 at yahoo.com> > Dear Longin,> > There are several other genera of sulfide oxidizars> that make elemental sulfur that we usually all lump> together as Beggiatoa, expecially when they make white> mats at the aerobic-anaerobic interface, like> Thiothrix and I think Thioploca.> > Best wishes,> Tom> > > --- Longin Kaczmarsky <solonnie at hotmail.com> wrote:> > > > > Dear Tom, Indeed, "little white worms squirming> > out" of stockings sound like something much hardier> > than the tiny delicate (but visible) Beggiatoa-like> > filaments I've observed. In the lab using a> > dissecting scope we see the Beggiatoa-like filaments> > intertwined within the mat of more finely> > filamentous cyanobacteria, but in nature these large> > white gliding filaments are very abundant at the> > interface with the coral below the cyano mat. The> > particular samples I'm describing were obtained in> > St. Croix and according to Dr. Richardson are quite> > a bit larger than the usual BBD Beggiatoa. To more> > accurately identify them we tried several methods to> > extract DNA for molecular analysis but haven't> > succeeded. In whole BBD community analyses we did> > find some close sequence matches to Beggiatoa spp.> > However, microscopically they appear to contain> > intracellular sulfur globules which characterize> > bacteria previously identified in the literature as> > Beggiatoa. We did not isolate them in culture, which> > requires a micro-oxic atmosphere. They are about 20> > micrometers or so in width and many are up 1 cm or> > more in length. > > Hope that helps clarify things, Longin> > Kaczmarsky> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 03:00:47 +0000>> > From: tomgoreau at yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Re:> > [Coral-List] Please somebody, eat these slimy> > cyanobacteria all over the reefs> To:> > solonnie at hotmail.com;> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; reefteam2 at yahoo.com>> > > Dear Longin,> > I'm on the road and can't send> > from my email that the> coral list recognizes, so> > please forward this to it> with your resonse,> > Thanks! > > I know Beggiatoa very well, and the work> > of Laurie> Richardson and colleagues shows its close> > association> with Phormidium coralyticum in Black> > Band Disease. The> Broward group collected the> > cyanobacteria (Lyngbya> confervoides) off the reef> > where they were killing> corals and gorgonians, and> > stuffed them into lady's> panty hose, and when they> > tossed them into the boat,> they found all these> > little white worms squirming out.> > > Beggiatoa,> > being an obligate microaerophile, needs> both low> > oxygen and sulfide to survive, and so avoids> fully> > aerobic habitats. So it my guess that it was>> > something else, perhaps nematodes, but who knows? I>> > hope those involved can see if your photos match> > what> they saw, describe them more accurately, or> > provide> samples to someone who can look more> > closely. > > Best wishes,> Tom> > > > On Jan 21,> > 2008, at 2:00 PM, Longin Kaczmarsky wrote:> > Hi> > Todd and Tom,> I've collected many samples of> > cyanobacteria and> BBD samples off the reefs over> > the years for> examination in our lab and the> > "little white worms"> that we regularly see with the> > samples appear to be> Beggiatoa or Beggiatoa-like> > bacteria...gliding,> filamentous bacteria actually> > visible with the naked> eye. I've attached an image> > of these "worms" overlying> a fresh mat of cyano> > filaments. As you know, Beggiatoa>> > (sulfur-oxidizers) are thought to be required in> > the> BBD consortium and are often abundant in> > polluted,> nutrient-rich waters. > Lonnie> > Kaczmarsky, Florida International University> > >> > From: goreau at bestweb.net> > Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008> > 15:01:33 -0500> > To: reefball at reefball.com> > CC:> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> > Subject:> > [Coral-List] Please somebody, eat these> slimy> > cyanobacteria all over the reefs> > > > Dear Todd,>> > > > > I fully agree with you (almost all aquaria> > except> the very cleanest > > have them), except for> > these little worms that seem> to thrive in it > >> > (Nematodes?). But where are they when we really> > need> them?> > > > You can see cyanobacteria> > spreading almost> everyplace with known > > nutrient> > inputs, and it is getting steadily worse> every> > place I go. > > The top-down herrbivory control> > folks can't explain> these blooms: > > wherever you> > find them without an obvious nutrient> source there> > are > > almost always subtle nutrient sources that> > you> hadn't yet recognized. > > I use them in many> > resort areas to tell me exactly> where the septic >> > > tanks are leaching through the beach or bedrock,> > for> example in > > resort islands in the Maldives> > or in front of the> hotels in Bonaire. > > In> > Southeast Florida they don't only mark the sewage>> > outfalls: Dan > > Clark has found they allow you to> > pinpoint precisely> where the deep > > well injected> > sewage is coming up through cracks in> the overlying> > > > formations above the 'boulder zone' and starting> > to> kill reefs from > > the offshore side.> > > > A> > few years ago in Grand Cayman I found that North>> > Sound was being > > killed by nutrients leaching> > from the garbage dump> and golf course > >> > fertilizers, that the western area in front of 5>> > Mile Beach had large > > round patches of> > cyanobacteria on the sand that were> certainly where> > > > the septic tank drainage was finding its way> > into> the sea, and that > > the northwest was being> > killed by weedy algae and> coral diseases > > where> > all the turtle farm effluent flowed into the> sea,> > perhaps soon > > to be made worse with captive> > dolphin poop. And> there were > > cyanobacterial> > blooms on the staghorn corals on the> south side> > too. > > There was no place I looked at without an> > algae> problem. So the > > Department of the> > Environment decided to cheer me up> with a last dive> > > > on their very best reefs, far from any human> > impact,> on the > > northeast. The shoreline was> > completely free of> weedy algae, but the > > deeper> > we went to the drop off, the worse the>> > cyanobacteria blooms > > were. My DOE colleagues> > were shocked, they had never> seen that before > >> > at their favorite dive site. I think it was just>> > their bad luck to > > have taken me there after an> > upwelling event of> nutrients from below > > the> > thermocline, which is known to be driven by>> > seasonal internal > > wave breaking by solitons> > propagating across the> Caribbean along the > >> > pycnocline density boundary......> > > > I agree> > with you, the only way we know to control> them is> > to starve > > them of nutrients! Unless someone> > finds a cunning> parasite, virus, > > or other way> > of killing them economically without> side effects?>> > > > > Best wishes,> > Tom>