Microbial disease in coral reefs: An ecosystem in transition

Joydeb  Bhattacharyya; Samares  Pal

doi:10.3934/dcdsb.2016.21.373

Article Contents

2016, Volume 21, Issue 2: 373-398. Doi: 10.3934/dcdsb.2016.21.373

This issue Previous Article Nutrient limitations as an explanation of Gompertzian tumor growth Next Article Computation of $\mathcal R $ in age-structured epidemiological models with maternal and temporary immunity

Microbial disease in coral reefs: An ecosystem in transition

Joydeb Bhattacharyya^1, and
Samares Pal^1,

1.
Department of Mathematics, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235

Received: December 31, 2014

Revised: August 31, 2015

Published: February 2016

Abstract Related Papers Cited by

Abstract

Infectious disease outbreaks are considered an important factor for the degradation of coral reefs. Reef-building coral species are susceptible to the influences of black band disease (BBD), characterized by cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mat that migrates rapidly across infected corals, leaving empty coral skeletons behind. We investigate coral-macroalgal phase shift in presence of BBD infection by means of an eco-epidemiological model under the assumption that the transmission of BBD occurs through both contagious and non-contagious pathways. It is observed that in presence of low coral-recruitment rate on algal turf, reduced herbivory and high macroalgal immigration, the system exhibits hysteresis through a saddle-node bifurcation and a transcritical bifurcation. Also, the system undergoes a supercritical Hopf bifurcation followed by a saddle-node bifurcation if BBD-transmission rate crosses certain critical value. We examine the effects of incubation time lag of infectious agents develop in susceptible corals after coming in contact with infected corals and a time lag in the recovery of algal turf in response to grazing of herbivores by performing equilibrium and stability analyses of delay-differential forms of the ODE model. Computer simulations have been carried out to illustrate different analytical results.

Keywords:

Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 92B05, 92D25; Secondary: 92D40.

Citation:

Related Papers

Cited by

References

[1]	G. S. Aeby and D. L. Santavy, Factor affecting susceptibility of the coral Montastrea faveolata to black-band disease, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 318 (2006), 103-110.
[2]	P. L. Antonelli, Nonlinear allometric growth. I. Perfectly cooperative systems, Mathematical Modelling, 4 (1983), 367-372.doi: 10.1016/0270-0255(83)90061-1.
[3]	A. M. Bate and F. M. Hilker, Complex dynamics in an eco-epidemiological model, Bull. Math. Biol., 75 (2013), 2059-2078.doi: 10.1007/s11538-013-9880-z.
[4]	D. R. Bellwood, T. P. Hughes, C. Folke and M. Nystrom, Confronting the coral reef crisis, Nature, 429 (2004), 827-833.doi: 10.1038/nature02691.
[5]	E. Beretta and Y. Kuang, Geometric stability switch criteria in delay differential systems with delay dependent parameters, SIAM J. Math. Anal., 33 (2002), 1144-1165.doi: 10.1137/S0036141000376086.
[6]	J. C. Blackwood, A. Hastings and P. J. Mumby, The effect of fishing on hysteresis in Caribbean coral reefs, Theor. Ecol., 5 (2012), 105-114.doi: 10.1007/s12080-010-0102-0.
[7]	C. L. Birrell, L. J. McCook, B. L. Willis and G. A. Diaz-Pulido, Effects of benthic algae on the replenishment of corals and the implications for the resilience of coral reefs, Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 46 (2008), 25-63.
[8]	C. L. Birrell, L. J. McCook, B. L. Willis and L. Harrington, Chemical effects of macroalgae on larval settlement of the broadcast spawning coral Acropora millepora, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 362 (2008), 129-137.doi: 10.3354/meps07524.
[9]	S. J. Box and P. J. Mumby, Effect of macroalgal competition on growth and survival of juvenile Caribbean corals, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 342 (2007), 139-149.doi: 10.3354/meps342139.
[10]	J. F. Bruno, H. Swetman, W. F. Precht and E. R. Selig, Assessing evidence of phase shifts from coral to macroalgal dominance on coral reefs, Ecology, 90 (2009), 1478-1484.doi: 10.1890/08-1781.1.
[11]	T. J. Done, Phase shifts in coral reef communities and their ecological significance, Developments in Hydrobiologia, 80 (1992), 121-132.doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-3288-8_13.
[12]	S. R. Dudgeon, R. B. Aronson, J. F. Bruno and W. F. Precht, Phase shifts and stable states on coral reefs, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 413 (2010), 201-216.doi: 10.3354/meps08751.
[13]	T. Elmhirst, S. R. Connolly and T. P. Hughes, Connectivity, regime shifts and the resilience of coral reefs, Coral Reefs, 28 (2009), 949-957.doi: 10.1007/s00338-009-0530-8.
[14]	T. Fung, R. M. Seymour and C. R. Johnson, Alternative stable states and phase shifts in coral reefs under anthropogenic stress, Ecology, 92 (2011), 967-982.doi: 10.1890/10-0378.1.
[15]	T. Fung, R. M. Seymour and C. R. Johnson, Warning signals of regime shifts as intrinsic properties of endogenous dynamics, The American Naturalist, 182 (2013), 208-222.doi: 10.1086/670930.
[16]	K. Gopalsamy, Stability and Oscillations in Delay Differential Equations of Population dynamics, Kluwer Academic Publishers, MA, 1992.doi: 10.1007/978-94-015-7920-9.
[17]	J. Jompa and L. J. McCook, Effects of competition and herbivory on interactions between a hard coral and a brown alga, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 271 (2002), 25-39.doi: 10.1016/S0022-0981(02)00040-0.
[18]	D. Lirman, Competition between macroalgae and corals: Effects of herbivore exclusion and increased algal biomass on coral survivorship and growth, Coral Reefs, 19 (2001), 392-399.doi: 10.1007/s003380000125.
[19]	H. I. McCallum, A. Kuris, C. D. Harvell, K. D. Lafferty, G. W. Smith and J. Porter, Does terrestrial epidemiology apply to marine systems?, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19 (2004), 585-591.doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2004.08.009.
[20]	L. J. McCook, J. Jompa and G. Diaz-Pulido, Competition between corals and algae on coral reefs: A review of evidence and mechanisms, Coral Reefs, 19 (2001), 400-417.doi: 10.1007/s003380000129.
[21]	J. W. McManus and J. F. Polsenberg, Coral-algal phase shifts on coral reefs: Ecological and environmental aspects, Progress in Oceanography, 60 (2004), 263-279.doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2004.02.014.
[22]	P. J. Mumby, A. Hastings and H. J. Edwards, Thresholds and the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs, Nature, 450 (2007), 98-101.doi: 10.1038/nature06252.
[23]	M. M. Nugues and R. P. M. Bak, Differential competitive abilities between Caribbean coral species and a brown alga: A year of experiments and a long-term perspective, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 315 (2006), 75-86.doi: 10.3354/meps315075.
[24]	L. Perko, Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, Third Edition, Springer, New York, 2001.doi: 10.1007/978-1-4613-0003-8.
[25]	L. L. Richardson, Black band disease, Rosenberg E, Loya Y (eds) Coral health and disease, Springer, Heidelberg, 3 (2004), 325-336.doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-06414-6_18.
[26]	K. Rützler and D. L. Santavy, The black band disease of atlantic reef corals: I. description of the cyanophyte pathogen, P.S.Z.N.I. Mar. Ecol., 4 (1983), 301-319.
[27]	I. Siekmann, H. Malchow and E. Venturino, An extension of the Beretta-Kuang model of viral diseases, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 5 (2008), 549-565.doi: 10.3934/mbe.2008.5.549.
[28]	S. H. Sokolow, P. Foley, J. E. Foley, A. Hastings and L. L. Richardson, Disease dynamics in marine metapopulations: Modelling infectious diseases on coral reefs, Journal of Applied Ecology, 46 (2009), 621-631.
[29]	J. N. Underwood, L. D. Smith, M. J. H. Oppen and J. P. Gilmour, Ecologically relevant dispersal of corals on isolated reefs: Implications for managing resilience, Ecological Applications, 19 (2009), 18-29.doi: 10.1890/07-1461.1.
[30]	S. H. Yee, D. L. Santavy and M. G. Barron, Assessing the effects of disease and bleaching on Florida Keys corals by fitting population models to data, Ecological Modelling, 222 (2011), 1323-1332.doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.01.009.