SeaWorld Committed to Combating Coral Reef Disease in Florida

The Florida Reef stretches approximately 360 miles from Dry Tortugas National Park west of the Florida Keys to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. This area faces imminent danger from an outbreak of coral disease termed "stony coral tissue loss disease." Already in decline due to degraded water quality, climate change, and an expanding South Florida population, the reef has become the focus of a crisis intervention led by dozens of partners from federal, state, and local agencies; non-governmental organizations; universities; and members of the community. 

SeaWorld is among those actively combatting this destructive disease in an ongoing effort to support and protect the environment. Historically, SeaWorld has established numerous resources and funds to help support environmental conservation. SeaWorld's Management Team, which includes interim CEO Marc Swanson and Founder and Managing Partner of Hill Path Capital and SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.'s Chairman of the Board of Directors Scott Ross, remains committed to ongoing efforts to providing financial and scientific support to organizations that focus on animal rescue and rehabilitation, conservation education, habitat protection, and species research. 

In partnership with the Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, SeaWorld has donated more than $17 million to animal conservation projects, coral reef restoration, prevention of coastal erosion, habitat protection, and clean ocean initiatives. Its current contributions coincide with efforts of the Rising Tide Initiative, whereby SeaWorld helps researchers breed aqua-cultured fish. These fish are a sustainable alternative to wild fish collection, which "can stress the wild fish population and damage the coral reefs where they live." 

Understanding the Florida Coral Reef Disease

The outbreak of the disease was first discovered in Miami in 2014. It has continued to spread both north and south, affecting more than 95% of Florida's coral reef and damaging more than 20 of Florida's approximately 45 species of reef-building corals. In the past seven years, it has traveled to neighboring areas, such as Jamaica; St. Maarten; the U.S. Virgin Islands; the Dominican Republic; Turks and Caicos; Belize; the Yucatan Peninsula and Cozumel, Mexico; St. Eustatius; Culebra, Puerto Rico; Guadeloupe; St. Lucia; and parts of the Bahamas. Today, the disease is exceptionally prevalent, with high rates of disease transmission and mortality. Within certain species, the condition exists in 66-100% of colonies at a single site.

Corals contain a collection of microbes and algae that coexist in a complex system. Since corals live in an open system (the ocean), it is challenging to identify the disease's pathogens. Without such identification, rendering aid and conducting research remains complex.

Currently, scientists predict that secondary pathogens, believed to be multiple micro-organisms, may be responsible.  Dr. Blake Ushijima of the Smithsonian Marine Station and Dr. Greta Aeby of the University of Qatar "think it is likely that an initial pathogen attacks the healthy coral and opportunistic pathogens then accelerate the disease. These infections appear as different lesions on the coral. The pathogen is known to spread through direct coral-to-coral contact as well as through ocean currents."

Coral Disease Response Team

"Once a coral begins to lose living tissue, observations show that the colony will likely die within weeks to months without active intervention," reports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Physical signs of the disease include changes in pigmentation and loss of tissue. 

To aid in fighting the disease, numerous institutions and organizations have collaborated to develop effective teams to identify the pathogen responsible for the condition, create innovative treatments, conduct aggressive interventions, search for resilient corals, and undertake strategic restoration. Leading the research are a Steering Committee and an Executive Coordination Team. Additional teams include epidemiology and research; reconnaissance and intervention; coral rescue; propagation; restoration; regulatory; data management; communications and outreach; and Caribbean cooperation. Their focus is on the following coral disease response activities:

• Training on coral disease identification, ecology, and investigation techniques

• Coral disease surveys and fixed-site monitoring to document the spatial extent, mortality rates, and species-specific impacts

• Strategic sampling and laboratory analysis to identify the presence of pathogens potentially responsible for the disease outbreak

• Data management and epidemiological analysis of relevant datasets to determine what factors may influence disease progression

• Sampling plan and disease intervention workshops to determine priority data needs and potential management options to mitigate disease impacts

• Intervention experiments and field trials to assess the effectiveness of treatment techniques and prevent the further spread of disease

Prospective Solutions to Florida Coral Disease

Scientists continue to research and test new treatments on diseased corals, with two approaches assisting in treating and restoring affected areas. 

The Use of Probiotics

Corals have a beneficial microbiome (bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic organisms) that helps shield them from pathogens by producing antibacterial compounds or toxins that kill pathogens attempting to invade. Probiotics have proven to help reduce the spread of pathogens by bolstering individual colonies' ability to fight the disease. As a result, "experiments suggest that probiotic treatments may be naturally transferable from treated healthy corals to diseased corals, potentially allowing for simultaneous treatment and restoration."

"Probiotics are a promising avenue of research because they may be an effective tool for treating diseased corals as well as protecting healthy corals from infection," explained Ushijima. "For any disease outbreak, effective measures are needed to manage disease transmission, treat diseased individuals, and protect healthy populations. Therefore, if the probiotics are able to assist with two of these goals, it would greatly benefit the efforts put forth by the numerous organizations working on the [stony coral tissue loss disease] response."

Restoration Efforts

For the first time in history, the NOAA is taking emergency action to proactively intervene with the natural conditions of the coral reef. The organization has commenced removing nuisance and invasive species and is introducing disease-resistant and climate-resistant corals. The hope is that these aggressive and strategic restorative techniques will change the trajectory of the health of Florida's coral reef by restoring the most biologically and economically valuable areas impacted.

A Continued Fight for Coral Preservation

Since 2014, approximately $15 million has been allocated by the Florida State Legislature, NOAA, EPA, and other sources to support disease response. However, progress has been difficult. Coral disease science is a relatively new field, and the lack of supporting data has created a gap in scientists' ability to resolve the issue. 

While efforts to identify a long-term solution continue, rescued coral colonies are being transported and stored in zoos and aquariums across the country. Nearly 2,000 colonies are being cared for at 19 facilities across 13 states. All facilities are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and include the following: 

• Adventure Aquarium, New Jersey

• Blank Park Zoo, Iowa

• Butterfly Pavilion, Colorado

• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Ohio

• Disney's Animal Science and Environment, Florida

• The Florida Aquarium, Florida

• Fort Worth Zoo, Texas

• Georgia Aquarium, Georgia

• Jenkinson's Aquarium, New Jersey

• Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut

• Moody Gardens, Texas

• Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Florida

• National Aquarium, Maryland

• National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Iowa

• Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Nebraska

• Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, South Carolina

• SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium, Michigan

• SeaWorld Orlando, Florida

• Texas State Aquarium, Texas

• Fish & Wildlife Foundation

An Ongoing Challenge: Protecting Our Environment

The climate crisis, air pollution, growing population, plastic pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and poor governance are just a few of the most significant environmental issues we face today. To ensure ecological security for generations to come, institutions, governments, individuals, and companies, such as SeaWorld, must continue to take action, inspire, and execute change. Only through collaborative efforts can we truly make a positive impact on preserving the future. 

SeaWorld is just one organization joining forces to help fight coral disease along the Florida coastline. Additional partners who have been responding to the coral disease outbreak since 2014 include, but are not limited to the following: Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce; National Park Service; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program; Office for Coastal Management, NOAA; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Smithsonian; Coral Disease & Health Consortium; U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Coast Guard; National Marine Sanctuaries, Florida Keys; Martin County, Florida; Palm Beach County, Florida; Broward County, Florida, Cultural Division; Miami-Dade County, Florida; National Science Foundation; Mote Marine Laboratory; Force Blue; Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida; Key Marine Lab, Florida Keys; Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative; The Florida Aquarium; Florida Institute of Technology; Coral Restoration Foundation, Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment; The Nature Conservancy; Sea Grant Florida; Florida Atlantic University; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; Core RX; University of Hawaii; Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which represents more than 20 coral-holding facilities across the United States actively engaged in Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease response; University of South Florida; Ocean Alchemists; Florida Keys Community College; Florida International University; George Mason University; Oregon State University; Nova Southeastern University, Florida; Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council; South Florida Regional Planning Council; and, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.