MIAMI — On a coral reef, white is the color of death.
So when researchers see a flash of bone white amid the riot of colorful corals, fish and sea creatures, they know something is wrong. If it’s all white, the coral likely bleached to death in the steamy hot seas. But if it’s a patch of white surrounded by the raggedy brown edges of living coral tissue, they know the most devastating coral disease in the Caribbean has likely struck.
Stony coral tissue loss disease is a new and deadly disease affecting reefs throughout the Caribbean. Unlike other coral diseases, it affects more than 20 species, and it kills fast — sometimes within a matter of days.
