First Steps In The Identification Of The Causal Agent Of The Dark Spots Disease In Stony Corals     Diego L. Gil-Agudelo1, Garriet W. Smith2 , Diana P. Fonseca3 and Jaime Garzón-Ferreira3     1University of South Carolina, Marine Science Program.  Earth and Water Science Building, Columbia, SC; 2University of South Carolina at Aiken, Department of Biology and Geology.  Aiken, SC; 3Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras INVEMAR, P.O. Box 1016, Santa Marta, Colombia     Coral reefs are one of the most important and beautiful ecosystems on our planet.  But in the last decades, important decreases of coral reefs have been seen throughout the world, particularly in the Caribbean.  Although some clues about the causes of such dramatic declines have been discovered, the general question of what the primary causes are, are still unanswered. Dark Spots Disease is a new syndrome that has contributed to the general decline of coral reefs in the Caribbean.  In order to start identifying the potential pathogenic organisms causing this condition, carbon source utilization patterns of more than 200 bacteria isolated from the surface mucopolysaccharide layers of healthy Montastraea annularis and Siderastrea siderea and those showing signs of Dark Spots Disease were compared to each other and the water column.   Using cluster analysis, we found that the bacterial communities from each source were different. These differences were greatest for Montastraea annularis. A comparison of individual metabolic taxons, independent of coral species, showed the presence of 17 metabolic groups.  Metabolic group No. VII showed the most notable community change among the groups.  This group is similar to Vibrio carchariae, and it was found to be unique to diseased samples.  Work is continuing on the possible pathogenic relationship between these isolates and corals.