Page 4 - West Florida Shelf News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

For the last seven years, Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) has suffered from widespread and severe coral loss caused by stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). First observed off the coast of Miami-Dade county in 2014, the outbreak has since spread throughout the entirety of FCR and some areas of the Caribbean. However, the propagation of the disease through FCR seemed to slow down when it reached the western end of the Marquesas in August 2020. Despite being present about 30 km (~20 miles) from the Dry Tortugas (DRTO), SCTLD was not reported in this area before May 2021. As SCTLD transmission is likely to be waterborne, here we suggest that this apparently delayed propagation is related to eddy activity near the DRTO under the influence of the Loop Current/Florida Current system. To quantify the impact of the local ocean circulation on the spread of SCTLD from the Marquesas and the DRTO, we evaluated the hydrodynamic-predicted connectivity between these two regions using a high-resolutio

United statesDry tortugasGulf of mexicoMexico generalFlorida keysCaribbean seaBelize generalStraits of floridaWest palm beachKey westVan woesikStates kourafalouWildlife research instituteWildlife conservation commissionFlorida reef resilience program disturbance response monitoringFlorida keys national marine sanctuary