Data From: Antibiotic treatment ameliorates the impact of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) on coral communities

Stony coral tissue loss disease has spread widely in the Caribbean and
causes substantial changes to coral community composition because of its
broad host range and high fatality rate. To reduce SCTLD impacts,
intervention programs throughout the region have divers treating corals
with antibiotics. We assessed the effect of antibiotic treatment in the
British Virgin Islands by comparing coral communities at 13 treated sites
to those at 13 untreated sites. The prevalence of white syndromes (assumed
to be primarily SCTLD), the severity of white syndrome lesions, partial
colony mortality and complete colony mortality all showed a pattern
consistent with benefits of treatment: they were reduced at treated sites
but only for species of medium- and high-susceptibility to SCTLD. In
contrast, the prevalence and severity of lesions from other diseases, and
other causes of tissue loss, were all unrelated to treatment. Re-ordering
of rank abundance at the community-level was also consistent with a
positive effect of treatment because rare, highly SCTLD-susceptible
species increased slightly in relative cover at treated sites. Although
there was limited statistical support for these responses individually,
collectively the overall pattern of results indicates a modest beneficial
effect of the intervention program. Diver-based intervention programs
using antibiotics are thus a viable part of management plans for STLD at
the epidemic stage.