Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Rosenau, U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first reported in September 2014 off the coast of southeast Florida and has since become the most lethal coral disease ever recorded due to its swift spread, extensive tissue necrosis, and high mortality rates.

The etiological agent(s) and the mechanisms(s) of spread remain under investigation. Research has shown that SCTLD can be transmitted via seawater and direct contact with sick corals and sediments. Ocean currents are believed to play a role in transmitting the disease over relatively short distances (e.g., Florida’s Coral Reef) but cannot explain the pattern of spread across the wider Caribbean. Recent attention has focused on the roles vessels (specifically, ballast water and biofouling) may play in transmitting SCTLD and the implications these potential modes of transport could have for SCTLD spread to coral reefs around the globe. This presentation provides an overview of SCTLD and discusses the hypothesized short- and long-range mechanisms of SCTLD transmission including ocean currents, sediments, ballast water and biofouling. Ongoing and planned efforts in the U.S. to understand the cause, mechanisms of spread, and impacts of SCTLD will also be presented.

Nick Rosenau (U.S. EPA)
Nick Rosenau is a Biologist at the U.S. EPA in the Office of Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds | Ocean & Coastal Management Branch (OCMB) in Washington, DC. He is the staff lead for the branch’s Coral Reef Protection Program and coordinates EPA’s National Coral Reef Team. He also serves as the Biofouling lead for EPA’s rulemaking under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA).

Nick received his Ph.D. in Earth Science from Southern Methodist University (2013) and Bachelors’ degrees in Geology and Chemistry from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock (2007). Before moving to the DC area in 2016, he worked as a Geologist for several energy & environmental consulting firms in Colorado, and as a Staff Geochemist for oil and gas operators (Pioneer Natural Resources; Sklar Exploration) in Texas and Colorado. Prior to joining EPA full time in 2020, he was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow in EPA’s Office of Water where he supported a number of coastal management programs and worked on coastal acidification, coral disease, water quality, vessel discharges, and vessel sewage no discharge zones projects.