28th ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP April 21-25, 2003 Aspergillosis Of Gorgonians:  Origins Of The Pathogen Julianna Weir-Brush1, Ginger Garrison2, and Garriet Smith3 1University of South Carolina, Marine Science Program, Columbia, SC; 2U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL; 1University of South Carolina-Aiken, Dept. of Biology and Geology, Aiken, SC The number of reports of coral diseases has increased throughout the world in the last twenty years.  Aspergillosis, which primarily affects Gorgonia ventalina and G. flabellum, is one of the few diseases that have been characterized.  This disease is caused by Aspergillus sydowii, a terrestrial fungus with a worldwide distribution, and the Caribbean is a hotspot for aspergillosis.  Upon infection, colonies may lose tissue, and ultimately, mortality may occur if the infection is not sequestered.  The spores of A. sydowii are generally < 2 mm, which allows them to be easily picked up by winds and dispersed over great distances.  In addition to this, the primarily terrestrial fungus has adapted to a marine environment.  For this reason, it has been proposed that dust storms originating in Africa may be one way in which potential coral pathogens are distributed and deposited into the marine environments of the Caribbean.  To test the hypothesis that African dust storms transport and deposit pathogens, we focused on fungal pathogens and used A. sydowii as a model. Return to 28th Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page