Volume 72
Caribbean Cooperation on Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Epidemic
Authors
Wusinich-Mendez, D; E. Doyle; J. Lang Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2019
Pages: 290-293
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Two Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Punta Cana
Country: Dominican Republic
Abstract
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, or SCTLD, affects approximately half of all known stony coral species in the Caribbean region. The SCTLD epidemic started in 2014 in Florida and this aggressive disease has now spread to at least seven Caribbean countries and territories including: Mexico, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Sint Eustatius and Belize. SCTLD poses a particularly significant threat to Caribbean reefs because of its large geographic range, extended duration, high rates of mortality, and large number of coral species affected. Florida's SCTLD Response Structure includes a Caribbean Cooperation Team that works to review new disease reports from the region and to disseminate information on SCTLD prevention, identification and response and assist Caribbean jurisdictions in their efforts to understand and address this disease.