Dataset: Data describing every diseased coral record from surveys in the Caribbean during 2012 (Contagious coral diseases project)

This dataset contains every diseased coral record from the surveys, including species, disease sign, site, and meter within site.

Coral disease transmission experiments were completed for dark-spot syndrome on Sidereastrea siderea and yellow-band disease on Orbicella faveolata, as described in Randall et al. 2016. Following experimentation, microbial communities were extracted from tissue samples to determine whether any potential pathogen may have transmitted from healthy to exposed corals. Microbial communities on healthy corals were compared with diseased corals to identify any potential pathogens.

Experimental diseased and healthy corals were sampled and their microbial communities were analyzed using 454 Illumina pyrosequencing of the amplified 16S rRNA gene on the V1-V3 hypervariable region.