[Coral-List] SCTLD on Bonaire

[Austin Bowden-Kerby]

Bula Nicole and any who are following this thread,

I agree with your initial sentence, however, lumping me with those who
created ecological horrors in the past via well-meaning interventions
borders on character assasination - LOL!   No, I am not recommending
anything akin to the release of mongooses into the system to control
snakes, nor am I recommending the random and widespread culling of any
species.  And I will not retract what I have said about the potential
devastating impact of the 4-eyed butterflyfish, but I have toned it down
and suggested an experimental approach that should be urgently carried out,
where possible, as too much is at stake to continue doing nothing.

The scientific community has had nearly ten years to solve this problem and
we have failed!  That is a hard fact.  The 2020 NOAA plan throws funding
only at US waters, and offers no support for field-based research to gather
the missing information.  Land based facilities and coral rescue are
supported with a lot of funding, which is good.  But there are no
international cooperative agreements, or things like genetic testing of the
ballast water of ships arriving in areas without the disease, or leaving
the Panama Canal to keep the disease out of the Indopacific, rather they
are preparing Hawaii and the US territories for its arrival!   So yes, I
too am emotional at the position that this puts us in!   How on earth can
we solve all of these massive problems, when something this limited in
nature can not be stopped and solved?   I say lets' focus on finding the
vectors of local spread and doing our best to wipe this out!

I have a history of rocking the boat: I was among the pioneers of coral
restoration, being the very first to focus on restoration in the Caribbean
in 1993, and back to the Pacific in 1997.  I was heavily criticized in both
oceans for attempting the restoration of such a complex ecosystem, and I
was accused of being ''well meaning but misguided".  Our greatest
accomplishment was not restoration, rather it was threatened species
conservation: pulling Acropora back from local extinction's door in many
places.  But now I am questioning the direction that the field of
restoration is heading, with talk of fragments per square meter, large
areas planted, and planting a million corals- as if that will solve the
root causes of the problem!  Bleaching plus SCTLD now threatens to wipe
away much of our progress, as they are the new root causes of coral
decline.  I feel that the field has gotten far away from basic ecological
principles. Restoration must be focused on rebooting natural processes like
sexual reproduction and recruitment, not replacing these processes with our
own idea of what makes up a reef.  I detail my thoughts in my recent
paper.  https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf   And now, when we are
expecting massive species collapse and extinction in the coming decades due
to climate driven forces, the most important role of those involved with
active coral focused work needs to shift from restoration to securing the
genetic diversity of each of the declining coral species before they are
nearly gone, focusing on heat and disease resistance where possible. The
corals after propagation should be used to reboot natural recovery and
adaptation processes.  I am proposing some revolutionary new methods,
borrowed from recent breakthroughs in tropical forest restoration.  We use
small nucleation patches to create fish habitat and the fish facilitate a
much wider recovery.  The patches of corals also reproduce and send out
larvae, and they give out a strong settlement signal, which in theory will
attract larger numbers of coral recruits of diverse species, as well as
juvenile fish.  The patches should spread over time and restore the wider
ecosystem.   We are still conducting proof of concept experiments, and
preliminary work is going very well, and more results will come in after
the upcoming spawning and recruitment months. We welcome self-funded
collaborators and graduate students.  And if others want to borrow these
methods, please do- the clock is ticking!

Back to butterfly fish: I question calling 4-eyed butterfly fish keystone
species (meaning that the arch collapses when the keystone is removed).
Even if it were, removal from a few limited patches and at an experimental
level will not cause any harm to the wider system.  Even keystone species
can become a negative factor in coral survival and conditions change over
time.  COTS are keystone species capable of killing out staghorn and
tabulate species that otherwise dominate and crowd out the slow growing
species, yet we must now remove tens of thousands of them, because of their
huge numbers resulting from the prevalence of nutrient enriched waters as
well as overfishing of their predators.

I have added some references below that indicate that butterflyfish are
indeed spreaders of coral disease either via biting or pathogens spread via
their feces.  And on the other hand, they also may clean the wounds and
help the branches heal simultaneously to the spreading.  But the wound
cleaning via feeding would not be happening if the corals were not sick in
the first place.  Of course much more work is needed to sort this out, but
culling fish from experimental field plots will absolutely be required, if
we hope to do this.

Lastly, this topic may have extreme relevance to the ongoing mass bleaching
in the Atlantic and Caribbean.  Predation rates go out the roof when
predator to prey ratios become badly skewed post bleaching.  Butterfly fish
have recently been observed fighting over the few corals that remain after
mass bleaching and a coral population die-off.
https://phys.org/news/2023-01-coral-unnecessary-fish.html
With the present situation, if 95% of the Acropora corals for example were
to die off in a location, the potential that butterflyfish would represent
enough pressure to kill out what remains could become high.  The snail and
fireworm predators could also be horrific, but they would take longer to
arrive, while the fish have immediate access.  Parrotfish might also become
problematic, with respect to the few corals that remain, as this has
clearly happened in several sites here in the Pacific.  We have planted
hundreds of coral branches in restoration sites, only to find them eaten up
and mostly gone within a day or two.  So the restoration community needs to
be prepared to intervene post-bleaching, with predator removal efforts.
The predators will starve and go extinct locally if they do not have an
alternative food, and some species of butterflyfish are dependent on a
single species of corals, and so these fish will face global extinction if
the corals they depend on go.  But the irony is that their focused feeding
activities may help seal that fate!
https://phys.org/news/2008-02-butterfly-fish-extinction.html

Regards and good luck to all,

Over and out, as I have deadlines approaching!

Austin

Aeby GS, Santavy DL (2006) Factors affecting susceptibility of the coral
Montastraea faveolata to black-band disease
<https://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps318103>. Marine Ecology Progress Series
318:103-110
ABSTRACT: Black-band disease affects many species of tropical reef-building
corals, but it is unclear what factors contribute to the
disease-susceptibility of individual corals or how the disease is
transmitted between colonies. Studies have suggested that the ability of
black-band disease to infect coral is enhanced by different stressors. We
examined the effect of both water temperature and mechanical injury on the
ability of this disease to infect the reef coral Montastraea faveolata, and
investigated the possibility of an interaction between the 2 stressors.
Under laboratory conditions, Phormidium corallyticum was able to
successfully invade all injured fragments but no uninjured fragments of M.
faveolata, irrespective of temperature regime. We also determined whether
the local coral-feeding butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus was involved in
the inter-colony transfer of black-band disease. In aquaria, the presence
of C. capistratus increased the rate at which the disease spread from
infected to non-infected fragments of M. faveolata. Both corals that were
protected from and those that were exposed to fish predation contracted the
disease. Hence, either direct oral transmission of the pathogen from colony
to colony and/or indirect fecal transmission could be occurring. Variables
such as potential stressors and/or disease vectors on a reef could
contribute to the patterns of black-band disease observed in the field.

Raymundo LJ, Halford AR, Maypa AP, Kerr AM (2009) Functionally diverse
reef-fish communities ameliorate coral disease
<https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900365106>. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences 106:17067-17070
''We subsequently investigated potential links between coral disease and
the trophic components of fish diversity, finding that only the density of
coral-feeding chaetodontid butterflyfishes, seldom targeted by fishers, was
positively associated with disease prevalence. These previously
uncharacterized results are supported by a second large-scale dataset from
the Great Barrier Reef. We hypothesize that members of the charismatic
reef-fish family Chaetodontidae are major vectors of coral disease by
virtue of their trophic specialization on hard corals and their ecological
release in overfished areas, particularly outside MPAs.''

Cole AJ, Pratchett MS, Jones GP (2008) Diversity and functional importance
of coral-feeding fishes on tropical coral reefs
<https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2008.00290.x>. Fish and Fisheries
9:286-307
"Corallivorous fish show distinct prey preferences and consume only a small
subset of available corals, usually the genera *Acropora*, *Pocillopora*
 and *Porites*. This selective predation by corallivores can limit
abundance and distribution of preferred corals. Chronic predation by
corallivores may also exacerbate effects of coral disturbance (e.g.
climate-induced coral bleaching), impeding reef recovery and causing
further coral loss. Conversely, the cover of preferred corals can be a
primary determinant of corallivore abundance and physiological condition.
Owing to this close association, obligate corallivores invariably decline
in response to loss of coral cover. Increased knowledge of the number of
corallivores and their diets suggest that this feeding mode is more
important to coral reef food webs than traditionally thought."

Cole A, Chong Seng K, Pratchett M, Jones G (2009) Coral-feeding fishes slow
progression of black-band disease
<https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-009-0519-3>. Coral Reefs 28:965-965
Abstract: Outbreaks of coral disease are a major contributor to coral
mortality and subsequent reef degradation (Weil et al. 2006
<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-009-0519-3#ref-CR2>). One
of the most common coral diseases on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is
black-band disease. This disease forms a distinctive band which marks the
interface between live, healthy tissue and dead coral skeleton (Fig. 1
<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-009-0519-3#Fig1>). If, as
has been suggested, corallivorous fishes act as transmission vectors of
disease (e.g., Aeby and Santavy 2006
<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-009-0519-3#ref-CR1>),
they must feed directly upon the infected area. This direct feeding may
actually be beneficial as it could lessen the extent and progression of the
disease. In fact, it is conceivable that under intense or preferential
predation on diseased tissue that the infecting agent could be removed and
coral health promoted.

Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
Corals for Conservation
P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands


https://www.corals4conservation.org
Publication on C4C's coral-focused climate change adaptation strategies:
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf
Film on our "Reefs of Hope" coral restoration for climate change adaptation
strategies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG0lqKciXAA
TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PRLJ8zDm0U
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
<https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/>


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On Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 8:02 AM Nicole Crane <nicrane at cabrillo.edu> wrote:

> Dear all,
> I do believe we ALL have the same goal and motivation.  I also believe we
> all act on our best intentions, evidence, experience and (hopefully) broad
> collaboration and input.  Austin, you are raising some very important
> points, and it is clear where your passion and direction come from.  I
> would caution however: in your detailed response there is a clearly biased
> and (it seems to me) self convincing and reinforcing argument. I would
> caution to really take seriously input from others, real concerns, and
> moving forward with as little self idea validation as possible (this goes
> for all of us).  Its a human condition after all to want to validate our
> own ideas....
>
> We are, for example, as a community, moving forward on some very large
> coral transplantation projects.  I happen to work in a system where a fast
> growing weedy coral is actually destroying reefs, and who would have
> known?  We don't even really know enough about coral reefs to know if we
> are planting weeds or keystone species critical to ecosystem integrity.  I
> would say the same about many projects driven from our wishes to manipulate
> for the better of the system.  Lets please proceed with caution.  One last
> cautionary example (Alina mentioned a few but it important to heed these):
> Remember Allan Savory with his conviction (based on the science of the
> time) that removing (or reducing) elephants (clear culprits of savannah
> destruction and in high numbers causing ecosystem collapse it was assumed)
> from South African grasslands would benefit the ecosystem.  At his
> recommendation the government launched a massive culling operation.  As he
> developed as an ecologist and as the scientific community began to
> better understand the central role of elephants as keystone species, it
> became evident that the opposite was true - culling them was leading to an
> ecosystem decline on many levels.
>
> Let's recognize that there are so many elements of the complex coral reef
> ecosystem we do not understand before we recommend culling and other
> interventions...
>
> thanks for a great dialog here
> Nicole
>
>
> *Nicole Crane, Executive Director*
>
>
> David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship
> <https://conbio.org/mini-sites/smith-fellows/>
>
> Society for Conservation Biology
>
> 1133 15th Street NW, Suite 300
>
> Washington, DC 20005
>
> Senior Conservation Scientist/Co-Lead
> One People One Reef <https://onepeopleonereef.org/>
>
>
> Faculty, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Cabrillo College
> <https://www.cabrillo.edu>, Aptos CA
>
> It is sometimes convenient for me to send email on evenings and weekends.
> Please do not feel obligated to respond outside of your normal working
> hours.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 12:05 PM Austin Bowden-Kerby <
> abowdenkerby at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear everyone who responded to my reply on proposed 4-eyed butterfly
>> fish removal.
>>
>> Thanks for posting and this is what I expected.  However, you have
>> focused on the action I proposed, not the points I was making leading
>> up to that.
>> Yes, I agree, the precautionary approach of science would assume the
>> fish are innocent until proven guilty.  And the jury is certainly
>> still out on the 4-eyes, as the evidence is not really in.  The last
>> thing we need is an army of divers spearing 4-eyes along with the
>> lionfish, and this was not my intention!   But unfortunately the jury
>> is out on nearly everything:  dive gear, vectors, etc, and this should
>> not be so!
>>
>> Next year marks a decade into an existential threat to several species
>> of corals.  The NOAA task force developed their 5-year plan, launched
>> in 2020.  But did that slow the spread or answer the key questions?
>> https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/stony_coral_tissue_loss_disease/
>>   There are far too many questions remaining, and SCTLD is still
>> spreading and infecting new areas.  This threat was so great that it
>> required a Manhattan Project equivalent, and if a billion dollars had
>> been released for research, we certainly would not be where we are
>> now, grasping at straws.
>>
>> Again, SCTLD threatens to drive Dendrogyra and perhaps other coral
>> species to extinction.  This is extremely weighty.  The scientific
>> community must realize that it is essential that we turn the
>> precautionary principle on its head and assume guilt until proven
>> innocent.   This applies to the ballast water of ships, diver-induced
>> spread, and predators being likely vectors-  all should be assumed
>> guilty until proven innocent.  Active research should be aggressively
>> researching these and other hypotheses, and posting trends and facts
>> immediately.  Is this happening?  Not that I have seen- but I am not
>> an expert.  Are the experts satisfied with progress?   Is real
>> progress being made on the biology and ecological control of the
>> disease?
>>
>> Back to my Hypothesis that Four-eyed Butterflyfish are potentially the
>> primary vector of local spread:
>> One myth that must be dispelled is that 4-eyed butterfly fish are
>> benign mucus feeders.  While they might be on occasion, they are also
>> voracious tissue feeders and strip tissues right off of corals.  I
>> think that this is why they feed on diseased corals as the tissues so
>> easily come off?   We all have our assumptions, based on our
>> experience, and I doubt that those who responded have followed
>> butterflyfish around in your sites for hours like I have.  So my
>> personal perspective seeing them as a predator is based on experience,
>> and having 4-eyed butterfly fish come into my nursery sites and devour
>> corals while spreading a horrible rapid disease.
>>
>> My hypothesis: yes, the fish do come into a diseased coral and eat up
>> all the infected tissues lifting off of the skeleton.  So this feeding
>> action in-effect debrides the active infection off of the colony, so
>> that helps the infected individual recover.  They come back day after
>> day to clean up any new lesions.   But as they feed, the pathogen
>> contaminates their mouth, and as they bite and feed on healthy coral
>> tissues and nearby colonies, the pathogen is deeply embedded into the
>> coral tissues that are bitten.  So when a researcher visits the site
>> and sees the fish cleaning the wounds, they might not realize that the
>> fish are returning to a colony that they took bites out of a few days
>> earlier, causing the initial infection!
>>
>> With this hypothesis, I would assume guilt until proven innocent, if I
>> were in an area where the disease is just starting to spread.  I would
>> implement some experiments:  take data on the overall abundance of the
>> butterflyfish and the range of individual fish.  If there are corals
>> isolated from other corals on the reef where butterfly fish are not
>> present, I would follow them closely as controls, being careful to
>> visit those patches first.  If there are no 4-eyed free controls, I
>> would experimentally remove 4-eyed butterfly fish from patches around
>> Dendrogyra colonies.  I would also do experimental removal from a
>> diseased patch or two to see if the fish help with healing more than
>> simultaneous progression to uninfected colony areas.  Very soon I
>> would have some results.  If proven to be an important vector, I would
>> then begin removing the fish from around the most precious and
>> susceptible coral species.  But I am not in your ocean, so all I can
>> do is watch from afar.
>>
>> With the horrific mass bleaching that has now arrived in your region,
>> the corals will be even more stressed and what was formerly resistant
>> to the disease may succumb. For the areas which lose a large percent
>> of the corals, a new dynamic emerges; the predator to prey ratio
>> becomes badly skewed against the corals.  I am not sure if this is
>> widely published but I have seen it many times.  All coral predators,
>> (including the 4-eyed butterfly fish), will at that point exert a
>> stronger negative impact on whatever remains, and whatever remains
>> will be your most precious bleaching resistant corals.  The corals
>> will need your help surviving the predators.
>>
>> Please deal with this problem of SCTLD, as the ball has been in your
>> court for nearly a decade!  Your lack of effectively addressing SCTLD
>> threatens the coral reefs of the entire planet.  If it ever arrives in
>> the IndoPacific, it will be a very dark day for us all.
>>
>> Regards to all,
>>
>> Austin
>>
>>
>>
>> Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
>> Corals for Conservation
>> P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands
>>
>>
>> https://www.corals4conservation.org
>> Publication on C4C's coral-focused climate change adaptation
>> strategies:  https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf
>> Film on our "Reefs of Hope" coral restoration for climate change
>> adaptation strategies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG0lqKciXAA
>> TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PRLJ8zDm0U
>>
>> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
>>
>>
>>
>> <
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>>
>> On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 7:34 AM Nicole Crane via Coral-List
>> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>> >
>> > Targeting ‘bio criminals’ has always been a disaster. And I think I
>> really
>> > can say always. But the real reason is that we tend to turn to and on
>> > animals to solve problems without gathering enough evidence. Butterfly
>> fish
>> > may be vectors, but as Judy points out, there are likely others.
>> Disease is
>> > a tricky business and without a solid understanding there is bound to be
>> > regret at targeting a potential vector for extermination. Let’s please
>> not
>> > destroy critical members of an ecosystem because we are focused on one
>> > member (corals), and think we understand trophic dynamics enough (eg
>> lack
>> > or predation) to make that call.
>> > Nicole
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 7:56 AM Judith Lang via Coral-List <
>> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>> >
>> > > Thanks Alina!
>> > >
>> > > I was getting ready to remind the four-eyed butterflyfish hunters that
>> > > there are other possible biovectors for SCTLD in the Caribbean. The
>> > > infection could also be carried by common invertebrates like
>> > > coralliiophilid snails and fireworms, even perhaps Diadema during
>> their
>> > > nightly grazing excursions in areas with large enough populations for
>> that,
>> > > or by some other fishes. And don’t forget the plankton that corals
>> catch to
>> > > eat and even formites (Adey et al. 2019, Front. Mar. Sci. 6:678. doi:
>> > > 10.3389/fmars.2019.00678)--like the quasi-particulate organic matter
>> that’s
>> > > present in reef environments.  Similarly, although the distribution
>> of the
>> > > first few infected areas of the Caribbean precludes initial travel
>> there
>> > > via ocean currents from Florida, ballast water is not the only
>> possible
>> > > mechanism by which the pathogen(s) can be transported by ships or
>> smaller
>> > > vessels.
>> > >
>> > > My personal wish is that these valid concerns about "the on-going
>> > > anthropogenic disasters” be focused on the elected officials,
>> businesses
>> > > and all other parties who bear most of the responsibility for these
>> > > catastrophes, and still resist making the corrective changes that
>> even they
>> > > acknowledge are necessary.
>> > >
>> > > Judy
>> > >
>> > > Judy Lang
>> > > www.agrra.org
>> > >
>> > > > On 25 Jul 2023, at 09:33, Alina Szmant via Coral-List <
>> > > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > Hello Austin:
>> > > >
>> > > > Sorry to be negative, but your suggestions remind me of bringing in
>> > > mongooses to eat the rats in Hawaii, or kill all the wolves so that
>> there
>> > > are more deer and moose for humans to hunt... many more examples of
>> humans
>> > > trying to correct human induced problems by manipulating other
>> species that
>> > > really back fired in the longer term. Poor butterfly fish didn't
>> cause any
>> > > of these problems so I don't see why they should take the fall for the
>> > > on-going anthropogenic disasters. And spearing a few fish is not
>> going to
>> > > make the disease go away. Bad idea.
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > Alina
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> *************************************************************************
>> > > > Dr. Alina M. Szmant, CEO
>> > > > CISME Instruments LLC
>> > > > 210 Braxlo Lane,
>> > > > Wilmington NC 28409 USA
>> > > > AAUS Scientific Diving Lifetime Achievement Awardee
>> > > > cell: 910-200-3913
>> > > > EMAIL: alina at cisme-instruments.com
>> > > >
>> > > > CISME IS NOW SOLD BY QUBIT SYSTEMS; https://qubitbiology.com/cisme/
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > **********************************************************
>> > > > Videos:  CISME Video 5:43 min
>> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAYeR9qX71A&t=6s
>> > > > CISME Short version Demo Video 3:00 min
>> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa4SqS7yC08
>> > > > CISME Cucalorus 10x10 Sketch   4:03 min
>> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12sAV8oUluE
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > -----Original Message-----
>> > > > From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> On
>> Behalf Of
>> > > Austin Bowden-Kerby via Coral-List
>> > > > Sent: Monday, July 24, 2023 3:00 PM
>> > > > To: Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
>> > > > Cc: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> > > > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] SCTLD on Bonaire
>> > > >
>> > > > Dear friends dealing with SCTLD,
>> > > >
>> > > > As Four-spot Butterflyfish are now proven as a primary vector of
>> SCTLD,
>> > > I would consider removing these predators around pillar corals.
>> While this
>> > > approach may seem reactionary and unproven to some, consider that this
>> > > species of butterflyfish are not in the least bit endangered.  The
>> > > precautionary principle of science should be turned on its head when
>> > > extinction risk is involved: Guilty until proven innocent.  As the
>> > > Dendrogyra corals are so precious, I personally would not wait for
>> more
>> > > > data- I would assume that these fish are the primary vector, as
>> this is
>> > > apparently the only proven vector so far.
>> > > >
>> > > > We had a staghorn coral nursery in Roatan collapse due to a rapid
>> tissue
>> > > loss disease facilitated by a pair of four-eye butterflyfish way back
>> in
>> > > 2005, and the same problem was observed in Belize several years
>> later.  At
>> > > the very least, judge for yourself: monitor for the presence of the
>> fish
>> > > and observe their preferential feeding on diseased colony areas, and
>> then
>> > > record these same individuals moving and picking at healthy tissues
>> (which
>> > > a week later will likely be diseased).  But I personally would not
>> wait for
>> > > the obvious negative outcome.
>> > > >
>> > > > Perhaps overfishing of butterfly fish predators might be a factor
>> in the
>> > > spread of this disease in the Caribbean, and if so, the ecologically
>> > > balanced reefs with the lowest abundance of four-eyed butterfly fish
>> will
>> > > retain some pillar coral colonies?
>> > > >
>> > > > Here in the Pacific, we have had horrific problems with Melon or
>> Redfin
>> > > Butterflyfish stripping all the tissues off of Acropora corals when we
>> > > transplanted Acropora corals to reefs where the corals were absent, or
>> > > present only within Stegastes farmerfish territories (the farmerfish
>> chase
>> > > the butterflyfish away).  We speared out the butterflyfish to good
>> effect.
>> > > > But then we found that over-abundant Parrotfish were also a horrific
>> > > problem, in addition to COTS.  The farmerfish were found to
>> effectively
>> > > chase all three of these predators away.  In spite of some negative
>> costs
>> > > associated with Stegastes on Acropora corals, we are now looking into
>> using
>> > > farmerfish as "guard dogs" to protect the corals, as we work to
>> > > re-establish Acropora corals on ecologically imbalanced reefs.  Dead
>> reefs
>> > > very low in coral cover, on the other hand, do not harbor these three
>> coral
>> > > dependent predators, nor do they harbor diseased corals, but these
>> reefs
>> > > are often impacted by algal overgrowth, so small outplants fare
>> poorly. So
>> > > we developed new approaches using "nucleation patches" and planting
>> corals
>> > > to structures that quickly restore fish abundance, which in turn
>> reboot
>> > > natural processes (links below).
>> > > >
>> > > > Regards,
>> > > >
>> > > > Austin
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
>> > > > Corals for Conservation
>> > > > P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands
>> > > > https://www.corals4conservation.org
>> > > > Publication on C4C's coral-focused climate change adaptation
>> strategies:
>> > > > https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf
>> > > > Film on our "Reefs of Hope" coral restoration for climate change
>> > > adaptation
>> > > > strategies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG0lqKciXAA
>> > > >
>> > >
>> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
>> > > > <
>> > >
>> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > <
>> > >
>> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail
>> > > >
>> > > > Virus-free.www.avast.com
>> > > > <
>> > >
>> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail
>> > > >
>> > > > <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>> > > >
>> > > > On Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 3:11 AM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
>> > > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Hi Mel,
>> > > >>
>> > > >> I don’t know how there could be any science-based evidence that
>> > > >> disinfecting scuba equipment is slowing or preventing the spread of
>> > > >> SCTLD especially considering the fact that the specific pathogen
>> > > >> involved has yet to be identified. However, my critique of the
>> > > >> protocols affecting divers is also not founded on science. Mine is
>> > > >> just a visceral reaction based solely on how I see divers
>> interacting
>> > > >> with infected corals and observations involving how the
>> disinfection
>> > > >> protocols are carried out in situ. There are just too many
>> variables
>> > > involved for this process to inspire confidence.
>> > > >> While there is little known about the potential for scuba divers to
>> > > >> serve as vectors of coral disease, there are a number of studies
>> like
>> > > this one:
>> > > >> “Considering Commercial Vessels as Potential Vectors of Stony Coral
>> > > >> Tissue Disease”
>> > > >>
>> https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.709764/full.
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Simply put, we don’t know how this disease is spreading, but I
>> would
>> > > >> assert that we do know that it is at least reasonable to assume
>> that
>> > > >> ships are potential vectors - therefore why all the focus on divers
>> > > >> (an untested
>> > > >> entity) while cruise ships arriving from other known-to-be-infected
>> > > >> islands are continuing to be allowed to tie up close to shore
>> > > >> virtually on top of some of Bonaire’s shallow reefs close to where
>> the
>> > > >> disease was first detected?
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Regards,
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Steve
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Sent from EarthLink Mobile mail
>> > > >>
>> > > >> On 7/23/23, 9:30 PM, Melbourne Briscoe <mel at briscoe.com> wrote:
>> > > >>
>> > > >> There is a lot of discussion on the Bonaire forum of ScubaBroad
>> about
>> > > >> the presumed futility of restricting divers in order to slow the
>> > > >> progressions of SCTLD there. Is there any evidence that this is
>> > > >> actually helpful, or is it simply a precautionary approach based on
>> > > hope?
>> > > >>
>> > > >> - Mel Briscoe
>> > > >>
>> > > >> On Sun, Jul 23, 2023 at 7:55 PM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
>> > > >> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > > >> (mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov)>
>> > > >> wrote:
>> > > >>
>> > > >> I have several recent photos of SCTLD infected corals from the
>> reefs
>> > > >> of Bonaire if anyone is interested, they are available to share.
>> > > >>
>> > > >> I also came across several pillar coral colonies that I’ve been
>> > > >> informally monitoring over the years that have seemingly withstood
>> > > >> multiple stressors including (so far) SCTLD. I’ve read that
>> Dendrogyra
>> > > >> cylindrus have been almost totally wiped out by SCTLD in Florida
>> > > >> waters so I am wondering why they don’t suffer a similar fate on
>> > > >> Bonaire. I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that
>> > > >> Bonaire’s waters have not yet warmed like Florida’s have. ( I have
>> > > >> several pictures of what appear to be healthy pillar coral from
>> Bonaire
>> > > as well).
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Considering that paper on SCTLD and butterflyfish - what about
>> other
>> > > >> species as potential vectors? I have a good shot of a lizardfish
>> > > >> laying directly upon a healthy star coral. It seems that there are
>> > > >> multitudes of possible suspects. Although I faithfully disinfected
>> my
>> > > >> scuba gear as directed, I couldn’t help but feel like I was
>> > > >> participating in a modern day version of a rain dance ritual.
>> > > >>
>> > > >> On a more positive note, a welcomed respite, there were no cruise
>> > > >> ships barging in on Bonaire the entire week.
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Regards,
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Steve Mussman
>> > > >>
>> > > >> _______________________________________________
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Coral-List mailing list
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov (mailto:
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov)
>> > > >>
>> > > >> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> > > >>
>> > > >> _______________________________________________
>> > > >> Coral-List mailing list
>> > > >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > > >> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> > > > _______________________________________________
>> > > > Coral-List mailing list
>> > > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > > > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> > > > _______________________________________________
>> > > > Coral-List mailing list
>> > > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > > > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > Coral-List mailing list
>> > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > *Nicole Crane, Executive Director*
>> >
>> >
>> > David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship
>> > <https://conbio.org/mini-sites/smith-fellows/>
>> >
>> > Society for Conservation Biology
>> >
>> > 1133 15th Street NW, Suite 300
>> >
>> > Washington, DC 20005
>> >
>> > Senior Conservation Scientist/Co-Lead
>> > One People One Reef <https://onepeopleonereef.org/>
>> >
>> >
>> > Faculty, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Cabrillo College
>> > <https://www.cabrillo.edu>, Aptos CA
>> >
>> > It is sometimes convenient for me to send email on evenings and
>> weekends.
>> > Please do not feel obligated to respond outside of your normal working
>> > hours.
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Coral-List mailing list
>> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>