Black Band Disease upon the Reefs of Los Cayos
Cochinos, Honduras

J. P. Shrives1*, J.S.E. Lea2, M. R. Speight 1
1) Tropical Ecology Research Group, Dept. Zoology, University of Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.
2) Marine Research Facility, P.O. Box 10646, Jeddah 21443, Saudi Arabia.
* Corresponding Author: Jonathan Shrives: E-mail: jonathan.shrives@zoo.ox.ac.uk

Abstract. This study investigates Black Band Disease (BBD) incidence, distribution, and partial mortality
effects upon scleractinian corals in the Marine National Monument, Cayos Cochinos (MNMCC). Searches for
BBD used 80 m x 40 m plots at three different sites, chosen to represent a putative spectrum of site quality
according to scleractinian coral species richness and percentage cover. The benthic community was analyzed
using photo-quadrats, and BBD incidence figures were calculated. Colonies displaying BBD were tagged and
photographed repeatedly to quantify the progression rate of disease. These same colonies were then rephotographed
over the next two years to record colonization and succession data on the revealed skeletons.
Incidence of BBD in MNMCC is low, with the impacted site showing only 0.1% of hosts infected. The
healthiest site had an even lower incidence of BBD at 0.03%. The intermediate site had the highest incidence of
BBD at 0.38%. BBD was found to follow linear and asymptotic patterns of progression rate. The Intermediate
site, with the highest incidence was also found to have higher sediment flux than the other sites.
Key words: Black Band Disease, Honduras, Sediment, Coral Ecology.

Introduction

In the global degradation of coral reefs, coral diseases
have been identified as one of the most important yet
least understood causal factors (Harvell et al. 2004)
For example it has been estimated that the disease,
White Pox, has been responsible for reducing the
population of the Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata,
by up to 87% in the Florida Keys during 1996 to 2002
(Sutherland et al. 2004). Black Band Disease (BBD)
is unusual in being a microbial consortium upon the
surface of a coral, rather than an internal infection
(Carlton and Richardson 1995; Cooney et al. 2002;
Frias-Lopez et al. 2002; Frias-Lopez et al. 2003). This
microbial community is then responsible for creating
a chemical environment that digests off and dissolves
the coral tissue away from the skeleton (Richardson
1996). Unlike other coral diseases, BBD is often
found in low incidences but persists within a reef for
long periods, with the black band progressing over the
surface of a coral at speeds of 3-10 mm per day
(Antonius 1981; Edmunds 1991; Carlton and
Richardson 1995). The distinctive patterning of
healthy coral, black band and then recently killed
white skeleton, makes BBD a distinctive infection on
coral reefs. As such it is ideal for visual and
ecological surveys, where laboratory analysis and
microbiology techniques, such as Carbon Source
Utilization Patterns, are not required to identify the
pathogen. This facilitates the study of BBD in
creating space on a reef for primary spatial
competitors to corals, such as macroalgae and
sponges. Sedimentation and elevated nutrients have
been attributed as causal factors for increased disease
prevalence on coral reefs (Bruckner et al. 1997; Kuta
and Richardson 2002; Bruno et al. 2003; Nugues and
Roberts 2003)
A study by the World Resources Institute,
estimated that Honduran rivers provide 80% of all the
sediment and over half of all the nutrients in the
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef region (Burke and Sugg
2006). The Honduran Marine Protected Area, Marine
National Monument Cayos Cochinos (MNMCC), is
an archipelago consisting of two rocky islands and 13
smaller sandy cays. The archipelago is situated
approximately 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of
mainland Honduras and has been shown to be within
reach of local river sediment plumes following the
severe impacts of Hurricane Mitch in 1998
(Andrefouet et al. 2002). As such this area provides a
unique opportunity to study BBD on reefs influenced
by sedimentation and disturbance from local rivers
(Paris and Cherubin 2008).
This investigation aimed to record BBD incidence
at sites representing a spectrum of sediment impact
and reef health. BBD progression rates and
subsequent successional communities upon the corals
were also recorded for inter-site comparison.