caribaea to transmit WBD could be due to a combination of factors. caribaea, can transmit WBD given that both are corallivores of A. Another corallivorous snail, Drupella cornus, has been associated with multiple coral diseases in the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea 23, 24, but no explicit tests of its potential as a vector or reservoir have been performed to our knowledge. carunculata, and house the WBD pathogen during the winter and other periods of low WBD prevalence. WBD prevalence also varies seasonally and is highest in summer months (Libro and Vollmer, unpublished data). abbreviata acts as a reservoir for WBD is similar to the well-characterized Vibrio-Oculina disease system where the fireworm, Hermodice carunculata, acts as a vector and winter reservoir for the Vibrio shiloi bleaching pathogen on the Mediterranean coral Oculina patagonica 22. They did not test the possibility of the snails being a reservoir by starving their snails. Their experiments differ from our results in that only snails that had fed on disease caused tissue loss. abbreviata acts as a vector, but not a reservoir for вЂњrapid tissue lossвЂќ in A.

Previous experiments by Williams and Miller 17 show that C. lesioned), indicating that tissue injury facilitates WBD transmission in corals. Waterborne WBD transmission only occurred when corals were injured (i.e. cervicornis, suggesting that not all corallivorous snails are capable of transmitting WBD. abbreviata is able to retain the disease pathogen for at least two weeks and act as a reservoir for WBD. abbreviata regardless of whether snails fed upon healthy corals, diseased corals, or were starved, indicating that C. Transmission was highest in corals bitten by C. caribaea, waterborne transmission to intact coral fragments and waterborne transmission to lesioned coral fragments. We tested four possible modes of White Band Disease transmission in A. Second, we tested the potential for waterborne transmission of WBD by adding diseased coral homogenates to closed-circuit aquaria containing intact and injured (i.e. cervicornis fragments to snails fed on healthy, diseased, or no corals (i.e.

cervicornis 21) function as a vector and/or reservoir for WBD by exposing healthy A. caribaea (two common corallivorous snails found on A. Here weвЂ‰investigate the potential for WBD transmission via two putative snail vectors and the water column. Other coral diseases can be transmitted through the water column 18 and transmission can be enhanced by prior injury 19, 20. The corallivorous snail Coralliophila abbreviata is a vector for вЂњrapid tissue lossвЂќ in A. Two putative methods of WBD transmission are animal vectors and waterborne transmission. Natural modes of transmission, however, are poorly understood. WBD is highly transmissible experimentally, either via direct contact between diseased and healthy corals 16 or through application of gauze soaked in diseased tissue homogenate to a healthy coral 14. While a specific WBD pathogen has not been isolated, Vibrio and Rickettsiales bacteria have both been associated with the disease 8, 9, 15. Transmission experiments using filtered homogenates to isolate bacteria combined with antibiotic treatments demonstrate that WBD is infectious and caused by bacteria 14.

Since it was first reported in 1979 10, WBD has led to the destruction of up to 95% of Caribbean Acropora cover 7, 11 and resulted in the listing of both species as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act 12 and as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List 13. palmata вЂ“ and is identified by a progressing band of dying white tissue 10. WBD is a host-specific disease that infects both Caribbean Acropora species 7 вЂ“ the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis and the elkhorn coral A. White Band Disease (WBD) is a prime example of a devastating coral disease that is poorly understood 7, 8, 9. Few coral pathogens have been identified and little is known about how most coral diseases are transmitted, making efforts to manage outbreaks difficult. Despite the negative impacts of these diseases, we often lack key information about their etiology and ecology 6. There are now more than 20 described coral diseases 4, many of which are linked to increasing ocean temperatures and anthropogenic development 5. Coral reefs have experienced unprecedented declines due to a global rise in disease epizootics over the last 30 years 1, 2, 3.

Transmit band