Coral Health
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Hard Coral Tissue Loss Disease at Isla Verde
(SCTLD for its acronym in English)
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Reported in 2014 in Florida
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Associated with dredging and high temperatures
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As a possible vector of ballast water
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Unknown pathogen
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Affects more than 30 species of corals
In Puerto Rico it was reported at the end of 2019 and it was advancing from east to west.
How do you identify SCTLD?
It is a very aggressive condition that kills the coral as the lesion progresses.
Coral skeleton exposed
Live tissue
Margins of sickness
Treatment
A mixture of the antibiotic amoxicillin and a synthetic silicone paste (Base2B) is applied to the margin of the lesion to treat SCTLD lesions. To monitor the result in the colonies they are marked with a tag.
During 2021 it is reported affecting the corals of the Isla Verde reef. Due to weather conditions, treatment is abated in windows of at least three consecutive days of good weather. The first treatment was applied in July. Several colonies were marked. Two treatments could then be given in October and one in November. After that, the weather conditions have not allowed to give treatment again.
Here an image that shows the effectiveness of the treatment in some colonies. In this case with a single application the lesion stopped.
Preventive measure to avoid spreading the disease since it is transmitted to other corals through the water.
