Latest news with #coralrestoration
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Scientists seek to save Florida's dying reefs with hardy nursery-grown coral
A taskforce of experts looking into the mass bleaching and decline of Florida's delicate coral reefs is planting more than 1,000 nursery-grown juveniles from the reef-building elkhorn species in a new effort to reverse the tide of destruction. Record ocean heat in 2023 hastened the death spiral for reefs in the Florida Keys, which have lost 90% of their healthy coral cover over the last 40 years, largely because of the climate emergency, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Marine biologists from the Keys Marine Laboratory of the University of South Florida (USF) partnered with scientists from Tampa's Florida Aquarium to develop a large-scale restoration project involving elkhorn coral, which is critically endangered but also one of the fastest-growing and most resilient species. Earlier this month, the USF facility in Long Key, halfway along the ecologically fragile Florida Keys island chain, took delivery of 1,050 young elkhorn corals spawned between 2022 and 2023 at the aquarium's conservation and research center in Apollo Beach. The corals are acclimatizing in temperature-regulated seawater beds in Long Key. They will be distributed to research partners including the Coral Restoration Foundation, the Mote Marine Laboratory, Reef Renewal USA, and Sustainable Oceans and Reefs for planting at seven designated offshore sites around the Keys during the next two months. Teams will monitor their progress over the following months and years. While project managers say not all will survive, they hope some of the juveniles will thrive and grow, and the knowledge gleaned will help better inform future recovery efforts. 'Maybe there will only be 100 out there a year from now, but even if it's only one out of a hundred that survives that's particularly tough, we can propagate that one,' said Cindy Lewis, director of the Keys Marine Laboratory. 'We hope there will be some resistant babies in that batch. What I do know is that if we do nothing, we'll have done nothing, and nothing will happen.' Noaa says elkhorn branches can grow up to almost 4in (10cm) a year, and the species is particularly resilient to high wave action. They grow on larger, foundation coral species such as boulder star coral and brain coral to provide what Lewis calls a 'jungle gym' for fish and other marine life. Their planting along the Keys will also represent the closing of a circle, because the parent corals from which they were spawned were 'rescued' from the ocean ahead of the 2023 mass bleaching event. Biologists at the Florida Aquarium served as de facto matchmakers for the elkhorn corals, which were spawned to be as genetically diverse as possible. 'The coral juveniles we just transferred are made up of many new mother and father combinations that we hope will be more resilient to future stressors,' Keri O'Neil, director of the aquarium's coral conservation program, said. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion 'Without human intervention, these parent corals would not be able to breed due to the extent of the loss. They're a sign that, even during a crisis, we can make a difference. By working together we're protecting a reef that's essential to our environment, our economy and the thousands of species that call it home.' Lewis said the elkhorn project was a small component of a vast wider effort by numerous universities, environmental groups, and state and federal partners to try to restore as much lost coral as possible. 'Elkhorn is just one species of coral. Our partners are doing this for staghorn coral and others – the brain corals, star corals and boulder corals, the massive corals that build the mountains of reefs that these elkhorn and staghorn live on,' she said. 'All these different organizations produced over 25,000 pieces of coral this winter to put out on the reef that are going to make a difference, along with our elkhorn. 'Even though it seems dismal and depressing, the ray of hope is that we can produce these corals, we can get these corals out there, and that everybody has banded together to work together. No one organization is going to do it all. We need everybody, and we need everybody's ideas.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
9 great things to do through the summer months in the Florida Keys
The Florida Keys have more than beauty and beaches. Here's a look at some activities going on this summer. 5-7 Coralpalooza Tenth-anniversary event honoring World Ocean Day and World Reef Awareness Day. SCUBA-certified divers get hands-on restoration opportunities and snorkelers explore the broader context of coral reef conservation. Times vary. Upper and Lower Keys. 7-8 REEF Ocean Exploration Center Grand Opening Unveiling of state-of-the-art space dedicated to marine science, conservation and education on World Ocean Day. Immersive exhibits, tours, live demos and activities, food and drinks and Florida Keys adventures. 3-7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at REEF Campus, 98380 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. Free admission. 22-29 Key West Pride 'Still Rising'-themed activities include the celebration kickoff, movies, happy hour, karaoke, trolley tour and beach bash, comedy, bike tour, bartender competition, pool parties, brunches, tea dance and parade. Times, locations and prices vary. Key West. 28 Swim Around Key West Now in its 49th year, this annual event features solo, two-person relay team and three-person relay team categories. 10 a.m. at Higgs Beach, 1000 Atlantic Blvd., Key West. $190 each swimmer. 2-6 Key Lime Festival Culinary events celebrating citrus in the birthplace of Key lime pie. Sip and stroll, pie hop, brunch and dinners, pie drop, mini pie making, Key lime tree master classes, bartender battle and Key lime pie-eating championship. Times and ticket prices vary. Key West. 23-27 Hemingway Days Annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest presented by Sloppy Joe's, Running of the Bulls, street fair, museum tours, short story competition, 5K run and paddleboard races, bar stroll and marlin tournament. Times and locations vary. Key West. 11-17 Rum Fest Key West Second annual festival featuring a Grand Tasting Event, master classes, music, island cuisine and silent auction. Donations benefit MARC House's programs for developmentally and intellectually disabled adults in the Keys. Times, locations and ticket prices vary. Key West. 17 Game On! Key Largo Triathlon Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons, duathlons and an Olympic distance aquabike race. 6:50 a.m. at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, 102601 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. $127.14-$283.45. 29-Sept. 1 Just a Few Friends Key West Second annual island celebration honoring Jimmy Buffett's legacy with live music, food, memorial parade and party, book signings, film screenings, margarita strolls, brunches, happy hours, sunset sails and tiki cruises. Times, locations and prices vary. Key West. _________
