A Caribbean-Wide Microbial Epidemic and the Mechanisms of Sea Fan Resistance

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9614004 Harvell The project is supported as a high risk, rapid response project to investigate the causes and consequences of a disease epidemic in a dominant soft coral (gorgonian) of Caribbean coral reefs. An apparent epidemic of unknown cause is casing widespread but not total mortality in the genus Gorgonia. This rapid response award will allow Dr. to attempt to identify the causes of the disease, the response of the host gorgonians, and the efforts taken by the host animal to establish resistance. Diseases in marine systems are very hard to investigate, the pathogens are difficult to separate from secondary infectious organisms and the chemical mechanisms of resistance are virtually unstudied. Yet there have been numerous epidemics in dominant marine species over the past two decades that have fundamental influences on the underlying ecology of the ecosystem in which the target host once existed. This study, while very high risk, may yield some new insights on disease vectors and organism adaptations in the marine realm.