‘ANINI — A pair of scientists spent more than six hours in the waters off of ‘Anini Beach Wednesday as part of an ongoing coral disease study along Kauai‘i’s North Shore. Since September, Dr. Thierry Work, wildlife disease specialist for
‘ANINI — A pair of scientists spent more than six hours in the waters off of ‘Anini Beach Wednesday as part of an ongoing coral disease study along Kauai‘i’s North Shore.
Since September, Dr. Thierry Work, wildlife disease specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Honolulu field office, and Dr. Greta Aeby, a coral expert with the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawai‘i, have been investigating a cyanobacterial/fungal disease that is rapidly killing coral at ‘Anini, Makua and Hanalei.
In a Nov. 21 report, Work described the coral disease outbreak as an epidemic and said it is the first cyanobacterial disease in Hawai‘i.
The focus of Wednesday’s trip — their third in three months — was to re-photograph 15 infected coral sites to document the disease’s progression and to collect samples of the Hawaiian white-spotted toby fish, which have been showing up with black skin discoloration and unusual lesions on their fins.
Work’s job will be to determine if there is a relationship between the coral disease and what is happening to the fish. Having seen puffer fish with similar skin lesions in Waikiki, Work said he is “not convinced that it’s particular to ‘Anini.”
After exiting the water, Work and Aeby agreed on one thing in particular — that the water at ‘Anini is full of sediment.
“It’s horrible,” Work said, adding that finding their marked coral sites was nearly impossible. “I’m really surprised with the sediment that’s accumulated in just a month.”
Aeby said the sediment appears to be terrestrial and is moving east to west with the ocean’s current.
When asked about the water conditions during her dive, Aeby shook her head.
“These poor coral,” she said.
By 4 p.m., Work and Aeby had completed taking photos of infected colonies and had collected two additional cyanobacterial samples and four infected toby fish. They proceeded to euthanize each fish with an anesthetic and collect infected tissue samples, which will be taken back to a lab in Honolulu.
“The first step is to figure out what it is,” Work said. “We are going to look under a microscope to see what’s happening at the cellular level.”
Work estimates it will take him several weeks to study the tissues and release a report.
One bit of good news to come from Wednesday’s dive, according to Work, was that the disease’s progression seems to have slowed since his visit in October.
Terry Lilley, a Hanalei biologist and Eyes of the Reef volunteer who first alerted scientists of the unusual outbreak, agreed, but he has a theory that it is because of the lack of rain over the last couple of months. He is convinced that whatever is causing the disease is coming from the land.
“It (the disease) has slowed 20 to 40 percent over the last two months since the rains have stopped,” Lilley said. “This is just another piece of the puzzle.”
For more information about the coral disease along Kaua‘i’s North Shore visit Lilley’s website at www.underwater2web.com.
