Dr. Greta Aeby and researchers at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology have discovered a coral disease called Montipora White Syndrome in waters of Kaneohe Bay.
"You see these white coral down here that are dying from the disease," she points out.
First spotted in large numbers in March 2010, the disease killed off dozens of colonies of reddish-brown or "rice coral", which is the second most common type in the Hawaiian islands.
The disease strips off the live coral tissue, leaving only the dead white skeleton exposed.
"This year, last week, I did the same surveys, there were 198 so it's four-times as bad as it was last time," says Dr. Aeby.
She says this recent survey shows the largest coral disease outbreak the state has ever seen. The disease can kill quickly, destroying a 20 year-old coral head in 2 weeks.
"Unfortunately now disease outbreaks are occurring and occurring again and they're bad, this time there's hundreds of colonies that are going to be killed by this disease."
Early indication is that the disease is a bacterial infection, and may not be isolated to Kaneohe bay.
"Already on Maui we've gotten a couple reports," she says. "Also got reports from 'Eyes of the Reef' members on Kauai."
Dr. Aeby has organized a rapid response team to document and investigate the outbreak to help save this important resource.
"Just like human disease you have to figure out what causes it, how does it spread," she says.
She says the public is also a critical component in stopping the spread of this disease.
"Everyone has got to pitch in and help save Hawaii's reefs."
Dr. Aeby recommends that ocean users join the Eyes of the Reef Network to learn how to recognize and report signs of reef disease and damage.
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