Short 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. Marine scientists around the world are calling this a major ecological emergency. This story will highlight the innovative research efforts of a local team of coral ecologists focused on slowing the progress of the disease. Please see full details below.
Protecting Coral Reefs in Puerto Rico

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.
Rewards
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A beautifully illustrated phone background of the Elkhorn coral species by scientific illustrator Alexander Lebron.

A beautifully illustrated print of Elkhorn and Staghorn coral species by scientific illustrator Alexander Lebron.
THREE beautifully illustrated prints of Elkhorn, Staghorn, and Brain coral species by scientific illustrator Alexander Lebron.
Name | Donate Amount | Date |
---|---|---|
Donderson Escalamose | $25.00 | May 20, 2022 |
Gabriel Rios | $100.00 | October 08, 2021 |
Nicolás Vitek Colon Padilla | $1.00 | September 05, 2021 |
Erica Gonzalez | $40.00 | August 28, 2021 |
Ivette Gonzalez | $10.00 | August 28, 2021 |
Amalia Saladrigas | $20.00 | August 28, 2021 |
Lazaro Escudero | $25.00 | August 28, 2021 |
Jose Miguel Pacheco Gale | $30.00 | August 27, 2021 |
Dulce del Rio-Pineda | $50.00 | August 27, 2021 |
Gerson Crespo | $10.00 | August 27, 2021 |
Anonymous | $50.00 | August 13, 2021 |
Nicole Boriski | $100.00 | August 12, 2021 |
Kevin Lebron | $100.00 | August 10, 2021 |
Lyla Johnston | $50.00 | July 31, 2021 |
Aimee Siberon | $80.00 | July 31, 2021 |
Shara Lili | $75.00 | July 30, 2021 |
Kopano Ramsay | $100.00 | July 20, 2021 |
Robert Lebron | $80.00 | July 11, 2021 |
Mary Carpinelli | $25.00 | July 11, 2021 |
Anna Olson | $80.00 | July 09, 2021 |
Phillip Krzeminski | $80.00 | July 08, 2021 |
AMELIA Glum | $80.00 | July 04, 2021 |
Sandra Bravo | $100.00 | July 02, 2021 |
Nathanael Mengist | $100.00 | July 01, 2021 |
Anonymous | $1.00 | June 30, 2021 |
Thomas Hayden | $100.00 | June 28, 2021 |
Lana Homeri | $40.00 | June 26, 2021 |
Jorge Padilla | $200.00 | June 25, 2021 |
Fanny Martinez | $10.00 | June 25, 2021 |
Elizabeth Woodson | $50.00 | June 25, 2021 |
Atheel Elmalik | $100.00 | June 25, 2021 |
Alfredo Vincenty | $25.00 | June 24, 2021 |
Cecilia Jayo | $10.00 | June 09, 2021 |
Daniel Joyce | $100.00 | June 03, 2021 |
David Noah Guarneri | $15.00 | June 03, 2021 |
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