Fast Moving Coral Disease Alert on Bonaire
- Thread starter NW Dive Dawg
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It is certainly unlikely that a diver brought SCTLD to Bonaire. However, Grand Cayman's well-documented experience shows that in the months after SCTLD arrived, it was identified at a number of distant spots around the island which had boat moorings, and hence divers. It now fully rings the island. Did those hotspots accellerate the spread? It seems obvious that they did. Were the hotspots caused by human activity? That seems more likely than not, since it seems improbable that currents or fish movements would move the disease from one mooring to another. Was it stuff attached to smallcraft hulls? In their bilges? Divers? Fishers? I don't think they have a theory, and don't see how they could answer that question. Regardless, it seems obvious that having 10 locations from which it can spread is worse than having one--and that if one site on Klein gets hit, all of Klein's hard corals are existentially threatened. Shutdown may not work, but even if it just slows things down, STINAPA is doing the best it can.
The only thing I am worried about is 10% bleach solution eating my tee shirt and clothes. Splashing one drop will ruin just about any colored cotton. Nothing of mine is going into that solution. Lysol, no problem.
STINAPA's guidance for disinfection allows you to decide if your tee-shirts are non-sensitive, sensitive, or extra sensitive....
From Bonaire National Marine Park:
It’s essential for everybody to clean their gear before and after every dive day.
- Non-sensitive gear – soak 5 mins in 10% bleach solution, rinse 10 mins in freshwater.
- Sensitive gear – soak 5 mins in 7% lysol solution, rinse 10 mins in freshwater.
- Extra sensitive gear – rinse in soap then fresh water
- Dry – hang gear, plan dives, avoid contaminated zones
JoeTPhilly
Contributor
Maybe STINAPA should just delete the bleach recommendation as I think they would get more compliance.
As to the spread. Have they done any studies on divers' gear after diving in an infected site to see the degree it could be a problem?
As to the spread. Have they done any studies on divers' gear after diving in an infected site to see the degree it could be a problem?
That might be rather difficult without knowing exactly what's causing the disease.
JoeTPhilly
Contributor
Stony Coral TissueLoss Disease
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease An Ocean Pandemic: Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease While COVID-19 has captured the world’s attention and turned everyday life on its head, an ocean pandemic has silently radiated across the Caribbean Sea. The virulent and fast-moving Stony Coral Tissue Loss...
www.perryinstitute.org
A few breifings on SCTLD and experiments in controled conditions.
It can transfer from coral to coral without any third party (just through water) but not 100%.
Detailed breif. interesting stuff at 30:20, 40:15 ...
SoccerDad
Contributor
Have not read this all yet but a FB message:Stony Coral TissueLoss Disease
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease An Ocean Pandemic: Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease While COVID-19 has captured the world’s attention and turned everyday life on its head, an ocean pandemic has silently radiated across the Caribbean Sea. The virulent and fast-moving Stony Coral Tissue Loss...
A few breifings on SCTLD and experiments in controled conditions.
It can transfer from coral to coral without any third party (just through water) but not 100%.
Detailed breif. interesting stuff at 30:20, 40:15 ...
The causative agent of the disease may be in the water column and sediments (and thus transmissible by diver equipment), if this research study (https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00681) turns out to be correct. They found two families of bacteria in high abundance in coral lesions, but not in healthy tissues on the same, or uninfected corals. In disease-endemic sites, the same bacteria were found in the water column and in sediment biofilms (bacterial mats around sand grains). In separate studies, even ultraviolet treatment of biofilms (sort of the gold standard) did not kill off all bacteria. The big issue is that divers can transport the disease to sites where currents or animal movements wouldn't otherwise take it naturally.
FRONTIERSIN.ORG
Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales Are Associated With Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease and Its Suspected Sources of Transmission
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020....j3XHxdKim-j3Zwhlai6dPewmoJ1WPqJI1lE0pbaCCmqAQ
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