Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs
A coral reef in Belize showing dead coral, living healthy elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), both diseased and healthy symmetrical brain corals (Pseudodiploria strigosa), and a spotfin butterflyfish. Although some fish may benefit from Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the short term, the erosion of dead coral skeletons over time poses a grave threat to