Elkhorn and staghorn corals used to carpet Florida’s reef system, rising like antlers from the seabed — but not anymore. These crucial coral species are now “functionally extinct” in the region after record-breaking ocean temperatures, according to a study published Thursday.
The corals, which have been dominant reef builders in Florida for the past 10,000 years, were already critically endangered due to a host of factors including disease, pollution, hurricanes and ocean warming. But an unprecedented marine heat wave may have delivered a fatal blow.
In the summer of 2023, Florida’s water temperatures peaked at more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest recorded in the
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