Black band disease was one of the first coral diseases identified back in the 1970s, and it is still one of the most prevalent diseases on reefs worldwide. The disease forms a black band of microorganisms that progresses across the coral surface, leaving dead white skeleton behind, as evidenced on this brain coral (Diploria strigosa). Images Courtesy of the Twilight Zone Expedition Team 2007, NOAA-OE
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Cayman Islands Twilight Zone 2007