부산대학교 도서관

The article focuses on a study regarding spatial heterogeneity of the bacterial communities found in the mucus of Montastraea annularis. It relates the process involved in the study in which the sample collection was taken from the surface mucus layers of three Montastraea annularis coral colonies at Looe Key Reef in the lower Florida Keys that are considered healthy. Results show that all three colonies exhibited spatial variability amid the abundance of culturable Vibrio species (spp.). Findings imply that a single point sample may not serve as a representation of the total coral-associated bacterial community due to the high degree of spatial variability.