STONY CORAL TISSUE LOSS DISEASE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR MONTASTRAEA CAVERNOSA

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been spreading throughout Caribbean coral reefs since 2014, heavily impacting scleractinian corals. To mitigate losses, this experiment assessed the effectiveness of two SCTLD intervention treatments in situ. SCTLD-affected Montastraea cavernosa colonies offshore of Broward County were divided into three treatment groups: 1) chlorinated epoxy, 2) Base 2B plus amoxicillin, and 3) untreated controls, plus a fourth group of healthy untreated controls. These colonies were monitored over 11 months to record SCTLD status, lesion activity, colony mortality, and changes in healthy tissue area with 3D modelling. The Base 2B plus amoxicillin treatment was more effective at halting SCTLD lesions, slowing the rate of tissue loss, and decreasing the overall proportion of tissue lost as compared to chlorinated epoxy or no treatment. However, neither treatment prevented new SCTLD lesions from developing. These findings can enhance the effectiveness of Caribbean management efforts to mitigate SCTLD impacts.