Corals, bacteria, protozoas....... oh my!

[Flippers4pups]

My endless search for knowledge of reef/ocean bacteria and their effects on corals seems never ending.

I came across this series of seminars presented by IUCN Marine Maldives.

In collaboration with faculty of science of the Maldives National University.

Dr. Michael Sweet from Derby University, England.

 

[Flippers4pups]

4 and 5 where of special interest to me.

5 especially on his views of treatment for STN/RTN.

 

[Flippers4pups]

@Dana Riddle, what's your take on video #5?

 

[Dana Riddle]

@Dana Riddle, what's your take on video #5?

Gosh, I wish I could have sit for this lecture. Lots of questions.
I thought too little emphasis was placed on the primary cause of the infections, although he does mention climate change and damage caused by careless tourists later in the talk. What really got my attention was when he said he, in sterile conditions, could 'boil' corals at 36-37C and the coral lived 'happily ever after.' Is he suggesting corals don't bleach in absence of bacteria? If so this has staggering implications. I'm a little confused - here's a doctor from the UK doing work in a Venezuelan hotel room or fisherman's door step (how are controls possible?) Perhaps this was addressed in the earlier videos (I only watched #5.)
There has been a good bit of work done on bacterial populations' dependence on temperatures (higher populations in the warmer months.) If we maintain lower temps in our aquaria can we avoid some of these issues?
We used chloramphenicol to individually treat stressed corals after a high temperature episode at the coral farm (as suggested by Wilkens in his two-volume set) so I'm unsure of what is really new here unless we consider ID of newer pathogens and broad spectrum treatment protocols.
And let me be snarky - I thought it disrespectful that he didn't wear shoes while presenting. And a pet peeve - confusing plural and possessive forms (that is 'pathogen's' when it was meant to be plural.)
On the other hand, the video of the protozoa consuming the Acropora (in a case aquarists call 'brown slime') was fascinating. And the treatment protocols could be useful in a shotgun approach - I doubt many aquarists will apply Koch's postulates.
All in all, thanks for sharing! It's an addition to work done by DiSalvo and others:

Anthony, S.L., J.C. Lang, and B. Maguire Jr, 1997. Causes of stony coral mortality on a central Bahamian reef: 1991-1995. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Panama. 2: 1789-1794.

Antonius, A. and B. Riegel, 1998. Coral diseases and Drupella cornis invasion in the Red Sea. Coral Reefs, 17:1.

Antonius, A., 1977. Coral mortality in reefs: a problem for science and management. Proc. 3rd Int. Coral Reef Symp., Miami. II: 617-624.


Antonius, A., 1981. Coral reef pathology: a review. Proc. 4th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Manila. 2:1-6.



Antonius, A., 1981. The band diseases in corals. Proc. 4th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Manila. 2:7-14.



Antonius, A., 1985. Coral diseases in the Indo-Pacific: a first record. Mar. Ecol., 6(3):197-218. (abstract)



Antonius, A., 1988. Black band disease on Red Sea reef corals. Proc. 6th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Australia. 3:145-150.



Antonius, A., 1988. Distribution and dynamics of coral diseases in the eastern Red Sea. Proc. 6th Int. Coral reef Symp., 2:293-298.

DiSalvo, L. and K. Gundersen, 1971. Regenerative functions and microbial ecology of coral reefs. I. Assays for microbial population. Can. J. Microbiol., 17:1081-1089.



DiSalvo, L.H., 1971. Regenerative functions and microbial ecology of coral reefs. II. Oxygen metabolism in the regenerative system. Can. J. Microbiol., 17:1091-1100.



DiSalvo, L.H., 1969. Isolation of bacteria from the corallum of Porites lobata (Vaughn) and its possible significance. Am. Zoologist, 9:735-740.




Antonius, A., 1999. Halofolliculina corallasia, a new coral-killing ciliate on Indo-Pacific reefs. Coral Reefs 18:3, 300.



Antonius, A., 1999. Metapeyssonnelia corallepida, a new coral-killing red alga on Caribbean reefs. Coral Reefs 18:3, 301.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Gosh, I wish I could have sit for this lecture. Lots of questions.
I thought too little emphasis was placed on the primary cause of the infections, although he does mention climate change and damage caused by careless tourists later in the talk. What really got my attention was when he said he, in sterile conditions, could 'boil' corals at 36-37C and the coral lived 'happily ever after.' Is he suggesting corals don't bleach in absence of bacteria? If so this has staggering implications. I'm a little confused - here's a doctor from the UK doing work in a Venezuelan hotel room or fisherman's door step (how are controls possible?) Perhaps this was addressed in the earlier videos (I only watched #5.)
There has been a good bit of work done on bacterial populations' dependence on temperatures (higher populations in the warmer months.) If we maintain lower temps in our aquaria can we avoid some of these issues?
We used chloramphenicol to individually treat stressed corals after a high temperature episode at the coral farm (as suggested by Wilkens in his two-volume set) so I'm unsure of what is really new here unless we consider ID of newer pathogens and broad spectrum treatment protocols.
And let me be snarky - I thought it disrespectful that he didn't wear shoes while presenting. And a pet peeve - confusing plural and possessive forms (that is 'pathogen's' when it was meant to be plural.)
On the other hand, the video of the protozoa consuming the Acropora (in a case aquarists call 'brown slime') was fascinating. And the treatment protocols could be useful in a shotgun approach - I doubt many aquarists will apply Koch's postulates.
All in all, thanks for sharing! It's an addition to work done by DiSalvo and others:

Anthony, S.L., J.C. Lang, and B. Maguire Jr, 1997. Causes of stony coral mortality on a central Bahamian reef: 1991-1995. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Panama. 2: 1789-1794.

Antonius, A. and B. Riegel, 1998. Coral diseases and Drupella cornis invasion in the Red Sea. Coral Reefs, 17:1.

Antonius, A., 1977. Coral mortality in reefs: a problem for science and management. Proc. 3rd Int. Coral Reef Symp., Miami. II: 617-624.


Antonius, A., 1981. Coral reef pathology: a review. Proc. 4th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Manila. 2:1-6.



Antonius, A., 1981. The band diseases in corals. Proc. 4th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Manila. 2:7-14.



Antonius, A., 1985. Coral diseases in the Indo-Pacific: a first record. Mar. Ecol., 6(3):197-218. (abstract)



Antonius, A., 1988. Black band disease on Red Sea reef corals. Proc. 6th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Australia. 3:145-150.



Antonius, A., 1988. Distribution and dynamics of coral diseases in the eastern Red Sea. Proc. 6th Int. Coral reef Symp., 2:293-298.

DiSalvo, L. and K. Gundersen, 1971. Regenerative functions and microbial ecology of coral reefs. I. Assays for microbial population. Can. J. Microbiol., 17:1081-1089.



DiSalvo, L.H., 1971. Regenerative functions and microbial ecology of coral reefs. II. Oxygen metabolism in the regenerative system. Can. J. Microbiol., 17:1091-1100.



DiSalvo, L.H., 1969. Isolation of bacteria from the corallum of Porites lobata (Vaughn) and its possible significance. Am. Zoologist, 9:735-740.




Antonius, A., 1999. Halofolliculina corallasia, a new coral-killing ciliate on Indo-Pacific reefs. Coral Reefs 18:3, 300.



Antonius, A., 1999. Metapeyssonnelia corallepida, a new coral-killing red alga on Caribbean reefs. Coral Reefs 18:3, 301.

Lol, no shoes got me too! Lol

I've heard of antibiotics use in a "shotgun" approach to treat Coral diseases such as White Band before, but it was only second-hand knowledge and not back by any science.

The protozoa video was very cool I've never seen that before.

Koch's postulates won't be applied by average Joe hobbyist. But maybe removing a diseased Coral from a system and treating with some of the antibiotics he listed can be useful to the average hobbyist. If anything is a last-ditch effort to save the coral.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Lol, no shoes got me too! Lol

I've heard of antibiotics use in a "shotgun" approach to treat Coral diseases such as White Band before, but it was only second-hand knowledge and not back by any science.

The protozoa video was very cool I've never seen that before.

Again - thanks for sharing! I'll watch the other videos when I get a chance.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Dana, here's more:

 

[Flippers4pups]

In the case of "brown slime", is it the same as "brown jelly"?

If so, would the use of Metronidazole and possibly lowering temps, say to 76-75 degrees help. If "brown slime" is comprised of ciliates?

Then once the " brown slime" has subsided, use of a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat the damage be useful?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Something else he alluded to is the use of probiotics in coral health.

Using LRS foods that have probiotics added and broadcast feeding a tank have any health benefits?

Should we be adding probiotics to coral foods?

 

[Flippers4pups]

#reefsquad #RSL. What's your input?

 

[Dana Riddle]

In the case of "brown slime", is it the same as "brown jelly"?

If so, would the use of Metronidazole and possibly lowering temps, say to 76-75 degrees help. If "brown slime" is comprised of ciliates?

Then once the " brown slime" has subsided, use of a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat the damage be useful?

I'd have to go back and review those papers, but this is what I recall:
Metronidazole is effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Many, if not most, marine bacteria are Gram-negative.
The so-called black-band coral disease is due to Desulfovibrio, a Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium.
Metronidazole is effective against anaerobic (not aerobic) bacteria.
So, Metronidazole would be effective only in certain instances.
I'm guessing the 'brown jelly' is due to sloughing and infestation of protozoa (the #5 video seems to suggest this.)
Again, I'll speculate: Lowering the temperature will slow biological activity which could give additional response time. Not sure by how much, but any additional time in a case of RTN could be important.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'd have to go back and review those papers, but this is what I recall:
Metronidazole is effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Many, if not most, marine bacteria are Gram-negative.
The so-called black-band coral disease is due to Desulfovibrio, a Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium.
Metronidazole is effective against anaerobic (not aerobic) bacteria.
So, Metronidazole would be effective only in certain instances.
I'm guessing the 'brown jelly' is due to sloughing and infestation of protozoa (the #5 video seems to suggest this.)
Again, I'll speculate: Lowering the temperature will slow biological activity which could give additional response time. Not sure by how much, but any additional time in a case of RTN could be important.

The reason I bring up metro was in the video, he suggested metro for combating protozoas (ciliates).

 

[Flippers4pups]

Thanks Dana for the responses!

@Dr. Reef , what's your take?

 

[Dana Riddle]

The reason I bring up metro was in the video, he suggested metro for combating protozoas (ciliates).

Yes. Since protozoa's () sometimes feed on bacteria, I'm wondering if control of their food source would control their populations?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Yes. Since protozoa's () sometimes feed on bacteria, I'm wondering if control of their food source would control their populations?

I would like to see a control study done to verify this. Might be tough though because of the numerous types of Marine ciliates. Some feed on other ciliates.....

 

[Dana Riddle]

I would like to see a control study done to verify this. Might be tough though because of the numerous types of Marine ciliates. Some feed on other ciliates.....

True enough! At one time, I had considered a project involving culture of marine bacteria. After researching different media broths required (some quite expensive), incubation time and temps (I have a programmable water bath) and so on, I decided it was beyond my budget/abilities to perform. I was particularly interested in any germicidal effects UV radiation emitted from metal halide lamps might have on bacteria populations (this should give an idea of how long ago I considered attempting this.) Sounds like a graduate student project with a healthy budget!

 

[jda]

About the only actionable thing that I can take from this is: if you believe that bacteria and protozoa are responsible for any kind of tissue loss, then I would not fuel them with organic carbon in a tank. Has anybody noticed a pattern of hobbyists posts that link organic carbon dosing with tissue necrosis in their tanks?

Other than this, there is a lot of ponder and wonder about.

I personally believe that bacteria and protozoa are what causes TN, but healthy corals do not get TN and have to be able to fight them off. ...kinda like the e-coli in our bodies or the flu and cold stuff in the air that surrounds each of us right now. To fight off anything requires sugars from the zoox to use as true nutrients/energy.