Over half of infected Caribbean corals resisted widespread bleaching
Researchers have successfully used predatory bacteria to treat diseased Caribbean staghorn coral, preventing further bleaching in over half of the test subjects. This method offers a potential alternative to antibiotics for managing coral health in warming oceans.
Why it matters
Coral reefs are vital marine ecosystems, and finding non-invasive ways to combat bacterial disease is critical for preventing widespread reef collapse due to climate change.
Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the sea, but across the Caribbean, many of them are struggling to survive. Along with warming oceans and habitat loss, bacterial diseases have become a growing threat, capable of wiping out large sections of coral in a short time. Now, researchers in Florida have tested an unusual way to fight back, not with antibiotics, but with bacteria that naturally prey on other bacteria.According to a study published in The ISME Journal, about 57% of the endangered Caribbean coral fragments treated with these microscopic predators showed no bleaching beyond the point where the infection was introduced.
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