Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis
Coral diseases are a leading factor contributing to the global decline of coral reefs, and yet mechanisms of disease transmission remain poorly understood. This study tested whether zooplankton can act as a vector for white band disease (WBD) in Acropora cervicornis. Natural zooplankton communities...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2017-07-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/3502.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606154195238912 |
|---|---|
| author | Rebecca H. Certner Amanda M. Dwyer Mark R. Patterson Steven V. Vollmer |
| author_facet | Rebecca H. Certner Amanda M. Dwyer Mark R. Patterson Steven V. Vollmer |
| author_sort | Rebecca H. Certner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coral diseases are a leading factor contributing to the global decline of coral reefs, and yet mechanisms of disease transmission remain poorly understood. This study tested whether zooplankton can act as a vector for white band disease (WBD) in Acropora cervicornis. Natural zooplankton communities were collected from a coral reef in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Half of the zooplankton were treated with antibiotics for 24 h after which the antibiotic-treated and non-antibiotic-treated zooplankton were incubated with either seawater or tissue homogenates from corals exhibiting WBD-like symptoms. A total of 15 of the 30 asymptomatic A. cervicornis colonies exposed to zooplankton incubated in disease homogenate in tank-based experiments showed signs of WBD, regardless of prior antibiotic incubation. These results indicate that in our experimental conditions zooplankton were a vector for coral disease after exposure to disease-causing pathogens. Given the importance of heterotrophy on zooplankton to coral nutrition, this potential mode of disease transmission warrants further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:32:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-672ba8a80ea74c8e88c75491f3e96f86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:32:59Z |
| publishDate | 2017-07-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-672ba8a80ea74c8e88c75491f3e96f862023-12-03T11:02:06ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-07-015e350210.7717/peerj.3502Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornisRebecca H. Certner0Amanda M. Dwyer1Mark R. Patterson2Steven V. Vollmer3Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of AmericaCoral diseases are a leading factor contributing to the global decline of coral reefs, and yet mechanisms of disease transmission remain poorly understood. This study tested whether zooplankton can act as a vector for white band disease (WBD) in Acropora cervicornis. Natural zooplankton communities were collected from a coral reef in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Half of the zooplankton were treated with antibiotics for 24 h after which the antibiotic-treated and non-antibiotic-treated zooplankton were incubated with either seawater or tissue homogenates from corals exhibiting WBD-like symptoms. A total of 15 of the 30 asymptomatic A. cervicornis colonies exposed to zooplankton incubated in disease homogenate in tank-based experiments showed signs of WBD, regardless of prior antibiotic incubation. These results indicate that in our experimental conditions zooplankton were a vector for coral disease after exposure to disease-causing pathogens. Given the importance of heterotrophy on zooplankton to coral nutrition, this potential mode of disease transmission warrants further investigation.https://peerj.com/articles/3502.pdfAcropora cervicornisZooplanktonCoral disease |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca H. Certner Amanda M. Dwyer Mark R. Patterson Steven V. Vollmer Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis PeerJ Acropora cervicornis Zooplankton Coral disease |
| title | Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full | Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis |
| title_fullStr | Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis |
| title_short | Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis |
| title_sort | zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral acropora cervicornis |
| topic | Acropora cervicornis Zooplankton Coral disease |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/3502.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rebeccahcertner zooplanktonasapotentialvectorforwhitebanddiseasetransmissionintheendangeredcoralacroporacervicornis AT amandamdwyer zooplanktonasapotentialvectorforwhitebanddiseasetransmissionintheendangeredcoralacroporacervicornis AT markrpatterson zooplanktonasapotentialvectorforwhitebanddiseasetransmissionintheendangeredcoralacroporacervicornis AT stevenvvollmer zooplanktonasapotentialvectorforwhitebanddiseasetransmissionintheendangeredcoralacroporacervicornis |