elkhorn coral

Scientists are urgently rescuing Florida’s last remaining elkhorn coral as rising ocean temperatures threaten another bleaching event. Teams from the University of Miami’s Lirman Coral Restoration Lab collected 30 elkhorn coral pieces for protection in a hatchery, while NOAA raised alerts for parts of the Florida Reef Tract. Efforts by Mote Marine Laboratory and the Coral Restoration Foundation aim to preserve genetic diversity critical for rebuilding reefs.

Florida researchers transported 30 elkhorn coral pieces to a land hatchery to protect them from potential mass bleaching due to warming waters. The coral species is functionally extinct in parts of Florida after heatwaves in 2023 and 2024, prompting efforts to preserve genetic diversity in controlled environments.

Florida researchers transported 30 elkhorn coral pieces from coastal nurseries to a land hatchery to protect them from potential mass bleaching due to warming waters. Scientists fear 2026 could bring severe bleaching, threatening the survival of the endangered species, which has been functionally extinct in parts of Florida since 2023 heatwaves.

Florida researchers transported 30 elkhorn coral pieces to a land hatchery to protect them from potential mass bleaching due to warming waters. Scientists warn that repeated heatwaves have made the coral functionally extinct in parts of Florida, prompting efforts to preserve genetic diversity through nurseries and hatcheries.

Florida researchers transported 30 pieces of endangered elkhorn coral to a land hatchery to protect them from potential mass bleaching due to warming waters. The coral, functionally extinct in parts of Florida due to heatwaves in 2023 and 2024, is being preserved for genetic diversity to combat climate change threats.