Reyes-de-la-Puente, G., A.G., Jordán-Garza, B., Morales-Ramírez, J.C., Rodríguez-Villalobos & R.E., Rodríguez-Martínez (2025). A 2018 epizootic of a tissue-loss disease in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico: implications for coral health and conservation. Coral Reefs. DOI: 10.1007/s00338-025-02636-7.
Garazi Reyes-de-la-Puente 1, Adán Guillermo Jordán-Garza 2, Brenda Morales-Ramírez 2, Jenny Carolina Rodríguez-Villalobos 3 y Rosa Elisa Rodríguez-Martínez 4
Coral diseases pose a significant threat to coral populations worldwide. Since 2014, a tissue-loss disease epizootic has decimated massive corals in Florida. In this study, we document the emergence of a tissue-loss disease epizootic during 2018–2019 in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Using a large-scale sampling design across six emerging reefs within the Lobos-Tuxpan reef system, consisting of repeated observations on permanent quadrats, we investigated the impact of this outbreak, assessing the coral species most affected, its incidence, progression rates, recovery and the spatial distribution of newly affected colonies. Among the twenty observed species on the leeward reefs, 45% showed tissue-loss lesions. The key reef builders like Orbicella annularis, O. faveolata, Colpophyllia natans, Siderastrea siderea and Montastraea cavernosa displayed high susceptibility. Spatial distribution patterns of newly affected corals varied across observed quadrats. Our findings revealed rapid progression rates which eventually slowed or stopped, leading to limited total colony mortality. While this tissue-loss outbreak shared similarities with white plague and other white syndromes reported globally, its overall impact was less severe. However, in light of ongoing environmental degradation, future tissue-loss epizootics may become more frequent and severe.
Palabras clave: tissue loss; coral disease outbreak; disease prevalence; spatial distribution; SCTLD; Gulf of Mexico
Para obtener una copia del documento contacta la personal de la biblioteca a través del correo bibliocicimar{a}ipn.mx