Ruiz-Moreno Diego, Willis Bette L, Page A Cathie, Weil Ernesto, Cróquer Aldo, Vargas-Angel Bernardo, Jordan-Garza Adán Guillermo, Jordán-Dahlgren Eric, Raymundo Laurie, Harvell C Drew
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Dis Aquat Organ. 2012 Sep 12;100(3):249-61. doi: 10.3354/dao02488.
Coral diseases are taking an increasing toll on coral reef structure and biodiversity and are important indicators of declining health in the oceans. We implemented standardized coral disease surveys to pinpoint hotspots of coral disease, reveal vulnerable coral families and test hypotheses about climate drivers from 39 locations worldwide. We analyzed a 3 yr study of coral disease prevalence to identify links between disease and a range of covariates, including thermal anomalies (from satellite data), location and coral cover, using a Generalized Linear Mixed Model. Prevalence of unhealthy corals, i.e. those with signs of known diseases or with other signs of compromised health, exceeded 10% on many reefs and ranged to over 50% on some. Disease prevalence exceeded 10% on 20% of Caribbean reefs and 2.7% of Pacific reefs surveyed. Within the same coral families across oceans, prevalence of unhealthy colonies was higher and some diseases were more common at sites in the Caribbean than those in the Pacific. The effects of high disease prevalence are potentially extensive given that the most affected coral families, the acroporids, faviids and siderastreids, are among the major reef-builders at these sites. The poritids and agaricids stood out in the Caribbean as being the most resistant to disease, even though these families were abundant in our surveys. Regional warm temperature anomalies were strongly correlated with high disease prevalence. The levels of disease reported here will provide a much-needed local reference point against which to compare future change.
珊瑚疾病正对珊瑚礁结构和生物多样性造成越来越大的损害，是海洋健康状况下降的重要指标。我们开展了标准化的珊瑚疾病调查，以确定珊瑚疾病的热点区域，揭示易受影响的珊瑚科，并检验来自全球39个地点的气候驱动因素假说。我们分析了一项为期3年的珊瑚疾病患病率研究，使用广义线性混合模型来确定疾病与一系列协变量之间的联系，这些协变量包括热异常（来自卫星数据）、地点和珊瑚覆盖率。不健康珊瑚（即有已知疾病迹象或其他健康受损迹象的珊瑚）的患病率在许多珊瑚礁上超过10%，在一些珊瑚礁上则高达50%以上。在所调查的加勒比珊瑚礁中，20%的珊瑚礁疾病患病率超过10%，太平洋珊瑚礁的这一比例为2.7%。在跨大洋的同一珊瑚科中，不健康群体的患病率在加勒比地区高于太平洋地区，且一些疾病在加勒比地区的珊瑚礁上更为常见。鉴于受影响最严重的珊瑚科，如鹿角珊瑚科、蜂巢珊瑚科和侧星珊瑚科，是这些地点的主要造礁珊瑚，疾病患病率高的影响可能是广泛的。在加勒比地区，鹿角杯形珊瑚科和伞珊瑚科对疾病的抵抗力最强，尽管在我们的调查中这些珊瑚科数量众多。区域暖温异常与高疾病患病率密切相关。本文报告的疾病水平将提供一个急需的本地参考点，以便与未来的变化进行比较。
