[Coral-List] Take care in making attributions on the trigger for SCTLD

[Douglas Fenner]

     If anyone were to test that hypothesis, the testing would need to have
ways of making very sure that the Indo-Pacific corals don't get into the
Caribbean, and particularly that the disease doesn't get into the Pacific.
Closed systems, located in a place where all effluent goes into fresh water
could help.

On Tue, Mar 7, 2023 at 9:51 AM Austin Bowden-Kerby via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Further to the origin of SCTLD and its connection to Southern Florida.  Has
> anyone tested IndoPacific corals for resistance to SCTLD?  If Indopacific
> corals are highly resilient compared to similar Caribbean species, then the
> marine aquarium trade might be looked into as a possible or even likely
> source?  However, if Indopacific corals are just as susceptible, that
> hypothesis is retired.  Certainly and regardless of the origin,
> extraordinary measures should already have been put in place to prevent
> ballast water transport of this horrific disease out of the Caribbean and
> globally.   But I have absolutely no confidence in the present global
> system, where market forces take precedence over biosecurity, and where
> repeated introductions of Indopacific species have made their way into the
> Caribbean via the Aquarium trade: Lionfish, Unomia (Xenia), and many
> others, as if climate change and other forces were not already enough to
> deal with!
> 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
> 22 minute summary of climate change adaptation strategies
> https://youtu.be/arkeSGXfKMk
>
> 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 Wed, Mar 8, 2023 at 12:19 AM Kaufman, Leslie S via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > > Regarding the origin of SCTLD, it is important to keep things in
> > perspective.  The notion that sediment disturbance could have triggered
> the
> > coral disease syndrome SCTLD is a valid if yet unproven hypothesis.  For
> > Port of Miami, so is the possibility of SCTLD being launched by the Miami
> > sewer outfall and Miami River.  There may be other hypotheses as well.
> The
> > evidence is not nearly conclusive as yet in support of any particular
> > hypothesis.  The real issue in Florida is the overall overdevelopment of
> > the Kissimee ecosystem from Orlando to Key West, plus the failure to
> > adequately consider the environment and marginalized people in
> development
> > plans. There  may even be no plan other than get in, suck profits, get
> out.
> > Environmental crusaders should stick with rigor to the data and be
> careful
> > to choose the right enemy, unless the intent is really just to raise
> money
> > to keep crusading.  That of course requires a simple story and a singular
> > target to make funders feel good.
> >
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