NMNH Coral Probiotic - Researcher Applying Paste

Kelly Pitts, a research technician with the Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce, Fla., and co-lead author of the study, applies a paste containing probiotic strain McH1-7 with a syringe directly onto the disease lesion of an SCTLD-infected great star coral (Montaststraea cavernosa) colony. The paste was then smoothed flat with a gloved hand so that all apparently infected tissue was covered by the lesion-specific treatment.

The research team conducted field tests on a shallow reef near Fort Lauderdale. They focused on 40 M. cavernosa colonies that displayed signs of SCTLD. Some of the corals received a paste containing McH1-7 that was applied directly onto disease lesions. Other corals were treated with a solution of seawater containing McH1-7.