Adding insult to injury: Ship groundings are associated with coral disease in a pristine reef

Coral disease prevalence is significantly higher in areas affected by ship groundings, with long-term impacts potentially hindering reef recovery. A study at Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park found that coral diseases, particularly white syndromes, were an order of magnitude more prevalent two years post-grounding compared to undamaged control sites. Recovery rates varied drastically between grounding sites: the USS Guardian site showed steady hard coral cover growth (3% annually), similar to control sites, while the Min Ping Yu site exhibited negligible recovery due to unstable rubble substrates. The research suggests that ship movement during and after groundings, along with wave-influenced debris persistence, strongly influences long-term recovery trajectories, with disease prevalence persisting in damaged colonies.

Raymundo, L. J., Licuanan, W. L., & Kerr, A. M. (2018). Adding insult to injury: Ship groundings are associated with coral disease in a pristine reef. Plos One, 13(9), e0202939. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202939