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  The Daily Telepgraph 18 Jul 06
Coral's black plague
By Nikki Todd

A SINISTER black band of infection attacking coral reefs around the world could signal an emerging global pandemic of coral diseases, scientists fear.

Increasing varieties of diseases have been identified on reefs around the world, the Caribbean being the worst affected area with much of its reef devastated over the last 30 years.

The microbial diseases, including black band, white plague, white pox and white band, come on top of extensive bleaching of corals over the last few years which are believed to leave reefs vulnerable and susceptible to diseases.

Bleaching has been blamed on increasing water temperatures, combined with the ill effect of rising levels of nutrient run-off from the land. Overfishing and other human-related activities are also thought to contribute to the bleaching, which damaged much of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia's eastern coastline in 2002.

Since the bleaching occurrences, new signs of diseases attacking coral have appeared, with the black band microbial infection the latest diagnosed on the GBR.

Increased abundance of the infection, which advances by several millimetres a day, was detected near Pelorus Island off Ingham's coastline in far north Queensland, in January. It steadily kills corals as it chews through the micro-organisms when conditions are ripe to promote its spread.

Dr Bette Willis, a chief investigator at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, said while the GBR was the healthiest reef system in the world, the disease's spread was cause for concern.

"The Great Barrier Reef is still very, very healthy, but we need to be aware that disease is part of the system,'' Dr Willis told AAP. "We have seen small rises in disease and it is something to be aware of. "If it is anything like what has happened in the Caribbean, in the future it could be a threat.''

Dr Willis said rising ocean temperatures not only made coral more susceptible to disease, but pathogens also became more virulent. "So there is a bit of a double whammy here going on,'' she said. Dr Willis said coral provided a vital insight into the health of marine environments generally.

"In the marine environment, corals are often considered to be the canary in the gold mine,'' she said. "When we see them starting to fall over then we start to worry.''
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