The new, semi-annual Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) newsletter is a collaborative product of Florida Sea Grant, NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Coral Disease Working Group focused on sharing coral disease knowledge and experience across U.S. coral jurisdictions.
SCLTD is a novel coral disease that has been spreading rapidly throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean region, with devastating impacts on coral reefs in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean. The newsletter highlights major updates, innovations, and accomplishments in coral disease response, prevention, and preparedness. It is intended towards a non-technical audience in hopes of increasing awareness about the impacts of the disease and the need to sustain and enhance response efforts.
Inside, readers can find new and exciting articles, stories and important updates on the status and accomplishments of coral disease response efforts within each of the U.S.’s coral jurisdictions as well as a curated list of recently published research.
“Increasing communication with partners beyond those involved in day-to-day disease response will remind others of the ongoing negative impacts of SCTLD and the value of innovative response and research efforts,” says Caroline McLaughlin, Florida Sea Grant’s National Coral Disease Coordinator and the chief editor of the semi-annual newsletter.
Highlights of the first edition of the semi-annual newsletter include a feature on the novel rescue mission of imperiled corals in the Dry Tortugas, updates on research that seeks to understand disease transmission, and new SCTLD monitoring and analysis resources available to managers.
The newsletter would not be possible without its many editors and contributors from Florida Sea Grant, NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Smithsonian Marine Station, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Readers can expect the second edition of the digital newsletter this winter.
