Story

Puerto Rico’s corals are currently experiencing widespread die-offs due to a mysterious and severe disease called the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. This disease affects the longest-lived and slowest-growing reef building corals, and is moving across the Caribbean at an alarming rate.The reality of the disease, unmitigated in scope, is stark.

Local marine scientist Fabiola Rivera Irizarry has called it “a pandemic on the reef,” explaining that in the case of corals, the correct descriptor for an event of this kind is “epizootic.” 

What does this mean for the island? Apart from the fact that future generations of islanders won’t be able to enjoy, witness and learn from these unique and spectacular marine biomes, Puerto Rico’s cultural and economic foundation relies on healthy reefs. The indigenous Taíno people of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean believed that humankind emerged from the ocean. Corals are responsible for absorbing up to 97% of wave energy during storms, buffering and protecting coastal communities in the archipelago from the brunt of hurricanes.

Rivera Irizarry’s team of scientists is currently experimenting with the application of the antibiotic amoxicillin to try to stop the progression of this disease, and the good news is that it seems to be working. They are doing everything they can to try to slow the progress of the disease, and this story will amplify and uplift their incredible efforts. Through a documentary-style video and scientific illustrations detailing the ecology, structure and form of 2-3 species of corals affected by SCTLD, this story will incorporate the use of multimedia tools to tell the story of Puerto Rico’s frontline marine ecologists. 

Any additional funds raised will go directly to coral conservation groups working to protect Puerto Rico’s reefs.