Saturday, September 22, 2018

NOAA Rolls Out New Online Resource for Florida Coral Disease Response

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is sharing a new online resource that provides information about the response to a coral disease outbreak in Florida.

The coral-disease outbreak began in 2014 and is unprecedented in geographic range, duration, high rates of mortality and the number of coral species affected. Nearly half of the stony coral species found on the Florida Reef Tract have been affected, including the primary reef-building species in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

NOAA is calling this stony-coral tissue loss a disease because it only affects stony corals. NOAA is one of several agencies, academic, and non-profit organizations responding to the outbreak and Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the lead response agency.

This outbreak, and response, is ongoing. NOAA and the State of Florida have brought together coral experts to document the outbreak, identify the causes, understand the spread of the disease, and to identify and develop innovative, advanced treatments that may slow or stop the disease from spreading.

This web portal will be the primary location for public information about the Florida coral disease event.  

The post NOAA Rolls Out New Online Resource for Florida Coral Disease Response appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.



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