- Hello, Jeff - Again, I must praise you for posting stories
like this one. This article should be in the headlines of every US major
newspaper as well as reported on the major networks. In just 30 years,
80 to 90% of staghorn coral in Florida Keys is GONE.
-
- A mere 10 % is left. These numbers are staggering if
one realizes how many eons it took for the coral reefs to grow. In the
"blink of an eye" gone.
-
- It is possible that the entire reef of Staghorn coral
will be gone before 2012. The coral, as well as all marine life is under
assult from pollution, algae blooms, sediment, and a host of diseases,
among them coral bleaching, black-band and white-band disease, and white
plague. Now, this coral tissue-eating disease will surely wipe out the
rest of the coral.
-
- It saddens me to read about the plight of our environment
and the absolute ignoring of it by the Bush administration. IF George
Bush would spend just a minescule amount of the money he spends on his
war efforts, we might be able to stop some of the erosion of our planet.
His war effort is part of the problem.
-
- Once the planet becomes so unliveable that even marine
life cannot thrieve, it won't be long until those of us breathing the polluted
air cease to thrieve as well.
-
- Thank you, Jeff Rense, for posting articles about our
environment.
-
- Patricia Doyle
-
- From ProMed Mail
-
- Flesh-Eating Disease Kills Staghorn Coral
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- Las Vegas Sun, Nevada
- 3-24-4
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- An unidentified flesh-eating disease is killing staghorn
coral in the Florida Keys.
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- Staghorn coral, so named because of its antler-like branches,
is already in steep demise in the Keys. Since the 1970s, 80 to 90 percent
of the island chain's reef tract has died, according to the Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary.
-
- Pollution, algae blooms, sediment, and a host of diseases
have been blamed, among them coral bleaching, black-band and white-band
disease, and white plague. But this coral-tissue-eating disease appears
to be a newcomer.
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- "A lot of very freshly exposed skeletons alerted
me," said Dana Williams, a postdoctoral associate at the University
of Miami. "But we have no idea what it is."
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- The scientists determined that the disease could be spread
by the small coral snail, which eats coral, but do not yet know whether
humans can transmit it too.
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- Scientists at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in South
Carolina are trying to identify the unknown disease.
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- Williams and Margaret Miller, an ecologist with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, first detected bald patches of
staghorn at 2 reefs off Key Largo in April 2003. NOAA sealed off the small
reefs for 2 months, fearful that the malady could be spread by boats, divers,
and snorkelers.
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- In field tests, scientists pressed fragments of healthy
coral against diseased branches, and watched as the 6-8-inch fragments
died within 4 to 5 days. The team later detected the disease present in
14 out of 17 sites.
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- Another survey this past February [2004] revealed that
just 10 percent of each infected colony was alive, Williams said.
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- http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2004/mar/24/032401098.html?disease
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- ProMED-mail
- promed@promedmail.org
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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