Increased prevalence of ubiquitous ascomycetes in an acropoid coral (Acropora formosa) exhibiting symptoms of brown band syndrome and skeletal eroding band disease

The prevalence of coral-associated fungi was four times higher in diseased Acropora formosa colonies than in healthy colonies. Since taxonomically related fungal species were isolated from diseased and healthy colonies, we suggest that their association with coral may be constitutive but that their abundance is dependent on coral health.