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Coral Killer off the Keys
University of Georgia scientists have linked common bacterium found in the intestines of humans and other animals to the loss of living coral in the Florida Keys. The so-called "white pox disease" was first documented on Eastern Dry Rock Reef off Key West and has already killed more than 98 percent of the elkhorn coral onsome coral reefs. (June 18, 2002)
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• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Environmental Protection Agency
Fecal coliform bacteria resources
• Medical Microbiology
• Serratia
Members of the media may contact Kim Carlyle at 706-583-0913 for help or more information.
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James W. Porter, professor of Ecology and Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia, is the leader of the research team that discovered the cause of white pox disease. The disease, caused by the common bacteria Serratia marcescens, is decimating populations of Caribbean elkhorn coral in the Florida Keys.
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Kathryn Patterson, a University of Georgia Marine Sciences doctoral student and the discoverer of the white pox bacterium, examines a sample from the reef. Losses of living coral from white pox average 85 percent in the Florida Keys.
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| GALLERY OF DOWNLOADABLE IMAGES |
LOCATOR MAP: Editable 2C X 2.788" map of the Florida Keys and affected area
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In this Key West photographic survey image from 1994, the elkhorn coral on Eastern Dry Rocks Reef off Key West, FL appears to be healthy and uninfected with white pox disease.
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In this Key West photographic survey image of the same area in 1996, white pox disease has infected the elkhorn coral. White pox is caused by a common bacterium, Serratia marcescens, which is sometimes found in human waste. This is the first time a fecal coliform bacteria has been shown to kill marine invertebrates.
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In this Key West photographic survey image of the same area in 1998, white pox disease has spread further in the elkhorn coral. The disease is one of the fastest spreading coral diseases known. It can infect up to 10.5 cm2 per day.
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White pox disease infected this blade of elkhorn coral growing in Eastern Dry Rocks Reef off Key West, Florida. The irregularly shaped white lesions, caused by the common coliform bacteria Serratia marcescens, will eventually kill the coral.
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A diver examines healthy elkhorn coral growing near Key West, Florida. Populations of Caribbean elkhorn coral in the Florida Keys are being decimated by white pox disease, which is caused by the common bacterium Serratia marcescens.
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A health juvenile elkhorn coral grows along the coast of Key West, Florida. Elkhorn coral is an important shallow water species, providing both food and shelter for many animals on the reef. This species frequently provides the foundation upon which other species live.
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Serratia marcesens causes irregularly shaped white lesions on Caribbean elkhorn coral. Once one of the most abundant species of coral in the Caribbean, Acropora palmata has now been recommended for the endangered species list.
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Two blades of elkhorn coral grow along the coast of Key West, Florida. The left branch has been infected with white pox disease while the right branch is disease free. White pox is extremely contagious, however. Once it appeared on a reef, it spread to all areas on the reef within a year.
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