Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU

Description

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the etiology and pathology of scleractinian tissue loss disease (STLD). STLD is an emerging infectious disease with unknown etiology causing mass-mortality of stony corals along the Florida coral reef tract. The disease first emerged in 2013 near the port of Miami and has spread to the northern extent and south through the Florida Keys. Greater than 20 species have been affected, including >80% mortality in highly susceptible species, and recent surveys suggest this disease outbreak will permanently alter the community composition and structure of Floridaâ¿¿s coral reefs. In this opportunity, we are seeking a partner with expertise in animal pathology and veterinary science as well as diagnostic methods that can investigate and characterize new syndromes. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) will provide the CESU partner with access to diseased coral samples as submitted to NWHC by state and federal agency partners as well as access to the NWHC high-containment facilities, including an office with IT resources, a BSL3 necropsy suite, histopathology, supporting diagnostic laboratories (microbiology, virology, parasitology, and chemistry), and a BSL3 animal experimentation facility. In addition, the partner will collaborate actively with USGS board-certified wildlife pathologists, NOAA coral reef program, and the Florida Coral Reef Tract â¿¿ Disease Advisory Committee.

Agency Contact

More from Geological Survey