Climate crisis drives near-total collapse of staghorn and elkhorn corals that formed backbone to state’s reefs
Two of the most important coral species that made up Florida’s reef are now functionally extinct after a withering ocean heatwave caused catastrophic losses, scientists have found.
The near-total collapse of the corals that once formed the backbone of reefs in Florida and the Caribbean means they can no longer play their previously crucial role in building and sustaining reef ecosystems that host a variety of marine life.
This “functional extinction” is a stage before global extinction, a threat that now looms for many coral species. Scientists this month warned that a tipping point had been reached whereby corals around the world are set to be wiped out due to global heating, which is raising heat to intolerable levels in our oceans.
“We’re running out of time,” said Ross Cunning, lead author of the new Florida study and a research biologist at Shedd Aquarium. “Extreme heatwaves are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change, and without immediate, ambitious actions to slow ocean warming and boost coral resilience, we risk the extinction of even more corals from reefs in Florida and around the world.”
