Aerial view of coral reefs in the Florida Keys – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Bertl123
As a catastrophic bleaching catastrophe and die-off due to high ocean temperatures sweep across reefs in the Florida Keys, an urgent rescue effort is underway to preserve Florida coral species from extinction.
Coral experts told CNN that a terrible escalation that took place in as little as two weeks has left several reefs in the Florida Keys entirely bleached or dead.
In just a week, experts now predict the “complete mortality” of the bleached reefs, and they worry that if the record ocean warming persists, the same fate may befall reefs at greater depths.
Water temperatures near Florida reached some of the highest levels ever recorded worldwide due to the intense heat, lack of rain, and wind. A buoy in Florida Bay recorded 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday at a depth of 5 feet, in a region with little coral. According to the National Data Buoy Center, many other stations in the region recorded temperatures higher than 96, including one that reached 99 degrees.
The Florida Bay, which is shallower and where the readings were collected, does not have the greatest concentration of coral, but coral near the Florida Keys doesn’t care because it bakes in water that is over 90 degrees.
Coral is incredibly sensitive to variations in temperature. When temperatures are too high for too long, coral bleaches and turns white as it progressively starves to death by expelling its algal food source. According to specialists, the water in the area is normally in the mid-80s.
On July 6, the Florida Aquarium’s reef experienced 91-degree temperatures. When aquarium teams visited again on July 19 the coral was fully healthy, but by that time it had all bleached and an estimated 80% of it had died. At Sombrero Reef, off the coast of Marathon in the Florida Keys, “100% coral mortality” was discovered, according to another study from the Coral Restoration Foundation.
“This is akin to all of the trees in the rainforest dying,” Keri O’Neal, the director and senior scientist at the Florida Aquarium, told CNN. “Where do all of the other animals that rely on the rainforest go to live? This is the underwater version of the trees in the rainforest disappearing. Corals serve that same fundamental role.”
According to Andrew Ibarra, Cheeca Rocks was his “favorite reef,” and he expressed concern to CNN. He thus gathered his snorkeling equipment and camera, got in his kayak, and paddled the one-and-a-half miles off Islamorada to the location.
“I found that the entire reef was bleached out,” said Ibarra, a NOAA monitoring specialist at Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. “Every single coral colony was exhibiting some form of paling, partial bleaching or full-out bleaching. Including recent mortality for some corals that have already died.”
A horrifying cemetery of corals devoid of color and life may be seen in Ibarra’s photographs and movies.
Lesneski reported that she discovered two further reefs with “very, very high mortality” but also discovered “a little hope spot” on a dive in a deeper reef on Monday, where just 5% of the coral was beginning to bleach because water temperatures are somewhat colder in what is known as “depth refuges.”
But if there is no break in the extreme ocean temperatures, even those corals could bleach and perish. When ocean temperatures normally reach their peak, earlier mass bleaching occurrences in Florida occurred weeks after this one.
Now, specialists in reef restoration are removing genetically significant species from their nurseries, where they plant and grow coral designed to be hardier, and bringing them to land where they will endure the intense heat.
“Scientists are just working extremely hard to preserve what we have. It’s fairly absurd that the only option we have right now is to remove as much coral from the ocean as we can, O’Neal said CNN. “When you think about that, it’s shocking.”
The Endangered Species Act considers corals like Staghorn and Elkhorn to be “threatened” since there are just a few hundred genetically distinct individuals left, according to O’Neal. Elkhorn, a powerful plant that grows all the way to the surface and is essential for lessening the damaging effects of hurricane waves, has been destroyed in Florida by 90 percent.
The tens of thousands of coral fragments that are salvaged are placed in rows of climate-controlled water-filled tables at locations like the Keys Marine Laboratory of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. At least 1,500 corals have already been rescued by KML, and the organization anticipates that number to rise to 5,000 or more as the big rescue effort continues.
Cynthia Lewis, a biologist who serves as the director of KML, told CNN that the organization is currently in emergency triage mode. We might lose some of these corals that arrived last week because they were in pretty horrible shape.
While most of the coral was in good condition, up to 10 percent of it was dying at the lab, according to Lewis.
The foundation for rebuilding Florida’s reefs following this year’s bleaching disaster, according to experts, will be laid by every piece that is salvaged and will assist researchers identify the corals that can withstand warming oceans.
If anything, O’Neal told CNN, “Our work is more crucial than ever because we really rely on aquarium facilities to prevent these species from going extinct in Florida.”
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
