Images of white pox affected A. palmata at Looe Key, from June 2008, to June 2009, to July 2009 (left to right), show colony growth and partial mortality. Scales bars are 3 cm on a side or 3 cm in diameter. JW Porter and MK Meyers, from Sutherland, et al., 2011

By Jeff Kart, Bay City, Michigan
9 October 2011 Elkhorn coral is endangered. And it’s being threatened by us, as in humans, and what we flush down the toilet. A recent study published in the journal PLoS One says that human sewage is largely responsible for a disease which is killing off elkhorn coral in Florida. It’s called white pox disease, and at least one scientist argues that the problem goes far beyond the Sunshine State, and is likely contributing to coral decline worldwide. Well, no crap. Or maybe too much crap. The Nature Conservancy has more on the subject. Apparently, coral reef specialists have long suspected this was the case. The study examined elkhorn coral in Caribbean Sea off of Florida. Researchers isolated a people poop pathogen — Serratia marcescens — that causes white pox on the elkhorn, AKA Acropora palmata. This species of coral has declined by almost 90 percent in the last 10 years in Florida. White pox leaves white, circular lesions on the surface of infected colonies, and can take out a colony in a matter of days, according to NOAA. […]

Human Waste Dumped into Oceans Harms Coral, New Study Reveals