The Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a lethal disease that is affecting coral reefs throughout the Caribbean region.  Even though it was first discovered in 2014, it was not until several years later that significant outbreaks were documented. In fact, much of the Caribbean coral monitoring efforts in 2019 focused on the SCTLD. The SCTLD cause is still unknown, however, scientists have discovered that spreads quickly causing high coral mortality of slowest-growing and longest-lived reef-building corals, causing serious impacts on ecological dynamics and loss of habitats.

Given the concern of managers and scientists about SCTLD impacts and the need to share information, the MPAConnect (a partnership between the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program) and the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment Program collaborated on the development of a GIS-based dashboard tool. This online tool will show the presence of SCTLD around the region, a time-lapse of its progression, and which coral species have been most affected. Also, thanks to existing AGRRA coral reef monitoring data, this tool will indicate where the most susceptible to SCTLD corals are located.

To access the dashboard please go to:
Interactive Caribbean SCTLD Dashboard – English
The dashboard is available in Spanish here
Panel interactivo SCTLD del Caribe
For more information, please contact mpaconnect@gcfi.org or info@agrra.org.
Source: NOAA in the Caribbean Newsletter