Researchers at Northeastern University have made significant strides in restoring coral reefs, utilizing artificial intelligence to identify the pathogen responsible for white band disease, which has devastated elkhorn and staghorn corals for decades.
Professor Steven Vollmer and his team trained a machine-learning model using samples of both diseased and healthy corals, achieving an impressive 97% accuracy in identifying bacterial strains. Their investigation narrowed down 9,355 unique strains to just two potential culprits, with Cysteiniphilum litorale being almost exclusively associated with diseased corals.
This discovery paves the way for a more efficient approach to coral restoration. Previously, efforts to transplant disease-resistant corals into the wild were slow, requiring extensive quarantine periods. With the pathogen identified, researchers can now screen corals more effectively, expediting the transplant process.
Coral reefs are crucial to marine ecosystems, providing an estimated $2.7 trillion in annual benefits to humanity, including coastal protection and resources for vulnerable communities. As elkhorn and staghorn corals face critical endangerment due to rising ocean temperatures, this breakthrough is timely and vital for conservation efforts.