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Journal article
Pathological drivers of coral diseases across the Arabian Peninsula
Coral reefs, Vol.First online
03/12/2025
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Abstract
Increasing trends of coral mortality are a challenge to coral reef management worldwide, and a need exists to identify the causes and pathways involved. Pathology is useful to help decipher potential causes of mortality in animals, because it illuminates agents associated with lesions and gives insights on the nature of how a host responds to said agents. To better understand the nature of threats facing corals in the Arabian Peninsula, we performed gross and microscopic pathology on corals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Among 321 coral fragments examined from 21 genera, tissue loss was the most common lesion seen in 31% of samples, reflecting its widespread presence on reefs from the Arabian Peninsula. Histologically, 68% of lesions exhibited necrosis, predominantly in the basal body wall and surface body wall. Endolithic filamentous microalgae and sponges, originating from the skeleton, were associated with 57% and 39% of lesions, respectively, and were often linked to necrosis and hyaline membrane formation. Cell-associated microbial aggregates and coccidia were detected mainly in Acropora, Pocillopora, and Porites but were not associated with adverse host response. Notably, 69–100% of fragments showing lesions were female likely reflecting the temporal reproductive life history of corals in the region. Our findings highlight endolithic organisms as major contributors to coral tissue degradation in the Arabian Peninsula. Future studies might focus on drivers of endolithic microalgal and sponge dynamics in the region and their role in coral reef health.
Details
- Title
- Pathological drivers of coral diseases across the Arabian Peninsula
- Creators
- Thierry M. Work - National Wildlife Health Center (USA)Greta S. Aeby - Qatar UniversityDavid Abrego - Zayed UniversityJessica Bouwmeester - Red Sea Global (Saudi Arabia)Emily Howells - Southern Cross UniversityPedro Range - Qatar UniversityMaren Ziegler - Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenThor Jensen - King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyAmanda Shore - State University of New York (USA, New York)Grace Vaughan - University College DublinJohn A. Burt - New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE, Abu Dhabi)Christian R. Voolstra - University of KonstanzRadhouan Ben-Hamadou - Qatar Foundation
- Publication Details
- Coral reefs, Vol.First online
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Grant note
Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Aine Hawthorn reviewed previous versions of this manuscript.
- Identifiers
- 991013336955402368
- Copyright
- This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2025.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article