CRED REA Coral Health and Disease Assessment at Johnston Atoll, Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2008

Coral health and disease assessments were conducted along 2 consecutively placed 25-m transects, as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 6 sites at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) from 24 January to 14 February 2008, aboard the NOAA ship Hi'ialakai, during the Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HI0801. Within an area of 1-3m on each side of both transect lines, each colony was inspected and every diseased/afflicted coral enumerated and identified to the lowest taxonomic level. Raw data included: 1) area surveyed, 2) colony size, 3) taxon identification, 4) type of disease/lesion 5) percent live/dead tissue, 6) severity, 7) lesion distribution, and 8) photographic record. Tissue samples of selected cases were procured for histopathological analyses. These data provide the basis for computing quantitative estimates of disease incidence and prevalence. Samples and photographs provide aid in further disease characterization and description. Histological tissue samples are traditionally fixed in a formaldehyde solution prior to preparation for processing and analysis.