CONTENTS
-
Description and status of
commonly recognized coral
diseases on the GBR
 Introduction
Black
Band Disease
White
Syndrome
Skeletal
Eroding Band
Brown Band
Skeletal
tumours
Atramentous
necrosis
Porites
Pinking
Vibrio
Induced Bleaching
References
Content
navigation
Research
 Coastal
processes
Conservation
& biodiversity
- Biodiversity
assessment
-
Environmental change
and impacts
- Status
and trends
Marine
biotechnology
Reef monitoring
 Index
Project information
Reef issues
Data
animations
Survey archives
Survey results
Reef
by name
Reef
by location
Biodiversity surveys
Cairns
fringing reefs
Resources
 ProjectNET
for schools
Links
to relevant sites
Research
plan 2007-11
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Coral Diseases
on the Great Barrier Reef
Patterns of distribution and changes
in abundance
of Hard Coral Disease
Brown Band
Brown band disease is a new syndrome that has only been recently
identified on the GBR6
(Willis et al. 2005). The disease is typically expressed as brown
band between healthy living coral tissue and the dead white coral
skeleton. Often a narrow white zone of bleached and/or necrotic
tissue can be seen preceding the brown band. From our observations
the disease appears to be restricted to branching Acropora
spp. hard corals but this may be a reflection of limited
sampling to date.
| A detailed
examination of the brown band30
(Bourne et al. 2004) showed it was comprised of a dense
population of ciliates, packed with zooxanthellae from engulfed
coral tissue causing the brown colouration of the band. While it
is possible that the ciliate is the direct cause of mortality it
is also possible that the ciliate occupies the space
opportunistically in response to coral mortality caused by
another as yet unknown agent (hence the often seen white band
preceding the brown band) and this will require more research.
Surveys conducted by the LTMP in
2005 show that Brown Band Disease was relatively rare on the GBR
with examples recorded from only two reefs in each of two
sectors. Interestingly these are the Cooktown Lizard Island
sector in the north and the Capricorn Bunker sector to the
south. |
Image 7. Brown Band Disease on a branching Acropora
sp. hard coral. In this case the brown band is unusually
narrow, note the white area of dead coral in front of the
band.
Photograph AIMS LTMP
Click here for a larger view
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CONTENTS
Introduction | Black
Band Disease | White
Syndrome | Skeletal
Eroding Band
Brown Band | Skeletal
tumours | Atramentous
necrosis
Porites
Pinking | Vibrio
Induced Bleaching
References |
Content navigation
For further information contact
Ian Miller, AIMS
Telephone: +61 7 4753 4471
Email:
i.miller@aims.gov.au
December 18, 2008
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