Coral Line by: Akiko Kawaguchi
Coral Type: Digitate
Coral Species: Acropora digitifera
Message: Thank you and congratulations for being the first guest to donate to our coral lines project
In October 2014, this line was hit by a sudden bout of ‘White Syndrome’, a coral disease caused by bacteria. This spread quickly and caused a sudden, high rate of mortality. The disease appears to have gone now, and the remaining fragments were still growing well. Whilst it has caused mortality, this event has provided us with invaluable data, and a report on the effects and methods of control of the disease outbreak will be published shortly. At 2.5 years we see a second decrease in survival- this was the result of the El Nino induced Coral Bleaching event in April 2016, which wiped out more than 80% of living coral on reefs in Maldives. To have any survivors is lucky, and so important to help us regenerate our reef! Whilst there are just two fragments left here, there are none of this species currently alive on our house reef. Thank you for donating- you have helped to save a species in our local region!
