STONY CORAL TISSUE LOSS DISEASE
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a new lethal disease first reported in Florida in 2014. The cause of the disease is unknown but it is affecting >22 species of corals especially brain, pillar, star and starlet corals. The disease spreads quickly causing high coral mortality.
Why do we do it?
SCTLD poses a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems, which are vital for marine biodiversity, fisheries, coastal protection and the tourism industry. Monitoring the disease allows us to understand its prevalence, transmission patterns, and impacts on different coral species. This information helps us develop strategies to mitigate the disease's effects, protect vulnerable reefs, and promote coral reef resilience.
What are we doing?
Monitoring the spread of SCTLD around Roatan – we continue to monitor new dive sites to determine where SCTLD has started to impact the reef. This informs where we apply treatments to prevent new areas from becoming infected.
Applying treatments to prevent the expansion of lesions – once a colony has an SCTLD lesion, the infected area is dead and it will not grow back. Our goal is to prevent the lesion from growing larger so that the rest of the colony can survive. We apply an antibiotic paste called Amoxicillin/base2b to create a barrier between the diseased and healthy part of the coral.
Analyzing the efficacy of treatments – we place numbered tags on large corals (>50cm wide) that have lesions and we continue to revisit the site to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment. In some cases, 2-3 treatments may be required to stop disease progression. In other cases, the treatment successfully stops progression but a new lesion has appeared.
How you can help?
Monitoring ocean acidification is a collective effort; your involvement can make a difference.
Here's how you can contribute:
Volunteer
Join our efforts to preserve Roatan’s coral reef ecosystem. Every week we organize dives to apply treatment in the colonies affected by SCTLD, you can be part of our team!
Contact us at info@bicainc.org
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Adopt a site
You can help us by adopting a dive site. You only need to provide the logistics for the dive, at least once a month, so we can go to the site and apply the treatment to the affected colonies, we provide the treatment!
Contact us at info@bicainc.org for more information
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Donate
You can also go to our Amazon Wish List to donate the equipment and materials necessary to continue with our work.
Ways to Give
Join us in protecting the stunning marine and coastal biodiversity of the Bay Islands in Honduras by supporting our conservation efforts and safeguarding the future of our oceans for generations to come.
