Resumo

NAVAS-CAMACHO, Raúl; FRANKE ANTE, Rebeca  e  ACOSTA CHAPARRO, Andrés. Mortality of the coral Acropora palmata for a disease similar to white pox in Cinto Bay, Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean. Bol. Invest. Mar. Cost. [online]. 2022, vol.51, n.2, pp.137-144.  Epub 14-Dez-2022. ISSN 0122-9761.  https://doi.org/10.25268/bimc.invemar.2022.51.2.1257.

The Tayrona National Natural Park, located on the Colombian Caribbean coast, has a coastline shaped by cliffs and bays in its western part, with the presence of coral formations. In 2005, a coral formation dominated by Acropora palmata affected by lesions similar to those caused by White Pox disease was found in Cinto bay. Subsequently, 15 lesions were followed and photographed in three different occasions (May and August 2006 and March 2007), coinciding with the two contrasting climatic seasons of the region. Permanent growth was found in all lesions with an average of 0.8 cm2/day . Contrary to what was observed with white pox and other diseases in the region, these lesions did not stop growing when the temperature dropped in the first months of the year. This work describes the general appearance of the lesions, their different growth stages and the speed with which they expanded compared to previous studies of white pox in the Caribbean. Due to its appearance and that it only affected colonies of A. palmata, it was originally thought that this disease was a white pox, but this hypothesis could not be verified conclusively.

Palavras-chave : Acropora palmata; coral mortality; coral diseases; National Parks..

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