Photographs from a mountainous star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) losing tissue to disease in Florida, USA.

Photographs from a mountainous star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) losing tissue to disease in Florida, USA.  (A) Colony in situ showing bare white, recently denuded skeleton with no turf algae growth (arrowheads) with dark discoloration along the active tissue loss margins (arrows). More chronically exposed skeleton is covered by turf algae (asterisk), and remaining coral tissue is pale and partly bleached (c). Circled lobe was amputated for sample collection. (B) Sampled portion of colony displaying black band (arrows) that separates bare skeleton (arrowheads) and intact coral tissue (c) that is partially bleached.