of coral reef ecosystems, little data exist for interpreting natural disease processes, and climatic and anthropogenic-induced stresses, as demonstrated by anomalous physiological conditions such as coral bleaching, diseases, and tumors, are currently reported on reefs. The need to assess entire ecosystem responses to perturbations is critical since long term consequences may affect the coral's reproduction, recruitment, and settlement; community structure and composition of the entire species assemblages of a reef; and perhaps, ultimately, the survival and fate of coral reefs as complex and diverse living communities. As our nation's coastal zones become home to a greater percentage of our populace, there will be greater ecological consequences to natural coastal processes which support the richness of these ecosystems. Destruction of sensitive habitats such as these coral reefs is believed to be accelerated by human activities and deleterious anthropogenic inputs. Synergistic effects of natural disease processes, temperature increases, and other anthropogenic stresses seem to be exacerbating the system so that loss would appear to be exceeding replenishment and recovery processes. Otherwise sublethal impacts may lead to long term ecological damage, and have long-term debilitating effects on the coral ecosystem. Coral reefs in Hawaii have been reported to be covered by an algal turf, while bathed in seawater contaminated with xenobiotic pesticides, petroleum residues and land run-off contaminants. In Florida, pesticides such as chlordane and long-banned DDT are detectable as body-burdens in coral tissues as well as -5 other coral community species (conch, lobsters and fish). Rapid and concerted research efforts should be directed to identification of these xenobiotics, their potential source(s), determination of impact upon critical life history processes, and ways to protect and restore affected species and communities. The identification of potential causes and effects of habitat loss and species decline would involve sustained ecological research. Basic research to understand natural disease processes, coral bleaching, and other important processes on corals reefs needs to be correlated with host stress responses and physiology to determine the levels of natural processes and deleterious levels of exposure to allochthonous input and global climate change. Issues to be pursued include the development of assessment methods on many levels ranging from international cooperation on a global scale, to ecosystems--community, organismal, cellular to molecular--incorporating and modifying many of the new investigative technologies currently available. A thorough ecotoxicological understanding of the effects of anthropogenic inputs, response to exposure, and the tracing of fate and effects through the environment must be understood if we are to protect hard coral species as well as other sentinel organisms in coral reef ecosystems. Potentially, effects of pollutants may be synergistically interacting with each other and natural stressors, including global climate changes and increased UV-b exposure, and accelerating the rate of decline in coral reef systems. - 6 Development of biological diagnostic techniques to quantify threshold responses of reef ecosystems to environmental stresses on community structure and physiological processes should be initiated. Such approaches could be determined by analysis of data obtained at different spatial and temporal scales which assess which members of the ecosystem are most sensitive or resilient to perturbations, using more sensitive populations employed as predictive indicators. International cooperation to effectively study and manage resources is critical, as these systems are not closed within political boundaries. Stationary reefs are subject to fluxes and materials carried on ocean currents from other geographical areas. For example, the water quality of the Gulf of Mexico and entire Caribbean Basin has a direct effect on the reefs of the Florida Keys. The recent detection of new applications of DDT underscores the inability to separate the coral ecosystems from the western Atlantic region. Likewise, patterns of exploitation of reefs via fisheries, recreational activities, or tourist enterprise must be carefully addressed to develop strategies for sustainable use and protection for all. Research should be conducted to examine sclerochronology from geological record to determine whether natural processes are responsible or contributing to the decline in environmental quality: Study of cores from older corals and fossil reefs might help indicate periods of slower growth, which might imply past periods of decreased environmental quality perhaps induced by bleaching events. Changes in community structure composition over geological time may be gleaned from such investigations. -7 It is important that more environmental data be acquired, but to maximize its utility standardization of biological, physical, and chemical data collection--and a format to allow easy access and data analysis--should be attempted. More analytical methods must be developed and employed with less emphasis on empirical data. Scientific research should integrate sustained ecological research or monitoring with hypothesis-driven studies (both process-oriented and experimental research). The research must be of the highest scientific merit judged on a competitive basis and performed in a timely manner. The Agency has set many of the criteria for environmental concerns in different environments, for example setting acceptable limits of pollutants and acceptable testing systems. Unfortunately, simply applying these standards to the coral reef environment may be inappropriate. Therefore new, acceptable standards, levels of acceptable pollutants, and testing systems for coral reef ecosystems may need to be considered in cooperation with qualified experts. Coral reef research within the EPA is in its infancy. At the Gulf Breeze Laboratory we are initiating research programs to understand microbiological processes on reefs, in collaboration with the University of West Florida and the National Undersea Research Council in the Florida Keys. This concludes my written statement; I appreciate the opportunity to discuss my views on research necessary to understand the issue of coral reef degradation. BIOSKETCH FOR DR. DEBORAH L. SANTAVY Deborah Santavy, PhD. is a Microbial Ecologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at the Environmental Research Laboratory, in Gulf Breeze, Florida. She is a member of the Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology Research Branch. Ms. Santavy obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology, from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, in 1979, her honors thesis addressed hard coral taxonomy and coral reef ecology. Santavy Dr. received her doctorate degree in Marine Microbiology, in 1988, at the University of Maryland under the supervision of Dr. Rita Colwell. Her postdoctoral training was in the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Dr. Santavy has been active in coral reef research since 1976. In the mid 1970's she worked with a group funded by the World Wildlife Fund to study corals reefs in Southeast Asia, where she conducted ecological surveys of coral reefs in the South China Sea. In the early 1980's she was employed by the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institution working in support of their Coral Reef Research Project and Station in Belize. During that time, she conducted research on coral : diseases. In the mid 1980's Dr. Santavy worked on coral reefs in Bermuda, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, for her doctoral research. Her research focused on microbial symbiotic relationships with marine invertebrates. As a postdoc, she continued her work with microbial symbionts in marine invertebrates and their role in the production of natural products of biomedical interest. |