A team of researchers, who have just returned from an extensive coral survey cruise, documented significant coral mortality in the Florida Keys at restoration sites from this past summer’s heatwave.
The research team from NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs program and partners from Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and the Coral Restoration Foundation completed a scientific mission last week to quantify the impact of last summer’s marine heatwave on corals in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary Advisory Council meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday Feb. 20, at the Marathon City Council Chambers, and will discuss the results of the grim survey.
Researchers aboard the contracted vessel M/V Makai surveyed 64 locations at five of the seven Mission: Iconic Reef sites — Carysfort Reef, Horseshoe Reef, Sombrero Reef, Looe Key Reef, and Eastern Dry Rocks — to examine the reef-building stony acroporid corals outplanted by Coral Restoration Foundation, Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, and Reef Renewal.
Preliminary findings from the latest assessment provided insights into the current state of coral health and indicated that less than 22% of approximately 1,500 staghorn coral surveyed remain alive, according to NOAA (National Oceanic Administration) press release.
Only the two most northern reefs surveyed, Carysfort Reef and Horseshoe Reef, had any living staghorn coral, according to NOAA.
Of the five reefs surveyed, live elkhorn coral was found at only three sites: Carysfort Reef, Sombrero Reef in the Middle Keys, and Eastern Dry Rocks off of Key West, according to NOAA.
Researchers found no live staghorn or elkhorn corals at sample areas surveyed at Looe Key Reef in the Lower Keys, NOAA stated in its news release.
All data collected during the assessment is currently undergoing thorough review and analysis. Data from the research cruise will help NOAA and partners understand the extent of the record-high marine temperatures from the summer of 2023 on restored corals — which are nursery-raised and outplanted on the reef — and inform future restoration strategies to increase coral resilience.
This research follows a mission in August that assessed coral health during the height of the marine heatwave and incorporates data about how eight additional weeks of high temperatures affected corals.
Though anecdotal evidence from Mission: Iconic Reefs partners suggest that boulder, massive and brain coral outplants at a number of Mission: Iconic Reef sites — including Looe Key Reef — fared better during the marine heatwave; rough weather conditions during the mission prevented the research team from surveying more than the branching coral assemblages of staghorn and elkhorn coral.
“The findings from this assessment are critical to understanding the impacts to corals throughout the Florida Keys following the unprecedented marine heatwave,” said Sarah Fangman, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. “They also offer a glimpse into coral’s future in a warming world. When the ecosystem experiences significant stress in this way, it underscores the urgency for implementing updates to our regulations, like the Restoration Blueprint, which addresses multiple threats that will give nature a chance to hold on.”
Florida’s coral reefs are the backbone of the region’s tourism and recreation economy, and provide important ecological services to coastal communities. The health of Florida’s coral ecosystems has declined since the 1970s due to damage from hurricanes, heat-induced bleaching, disease and increased impacts from human activities.
“It is not the reef it used to be decades ago,” said Katey Lesneski, Mission: Iconic Reefs research and monitoring coordinator. “There are corals that fared better (in the summer heatwave) like the larger brain and boulder corals. Some of those did not look phased. What we may be seeing is a shift in different species on the reef.”
The assessment will support the ongoing restoration efforts of Mission: Iconic Reefs, a NOAA-led, partner-driven initiative to restore nearly 3 million square feet of coral reef — the equivalent of more than 50 football fields — at seven iconic sites within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, through pioneering restoration efforts involving growing and transplanting corals. The goal is to restore diversity and ecological function to the reefs by returning coral cover at target reef sites to a self-sustaining level.
The bleaching event allowed coral restoration practitioners to see what genotypes did well and what did not. Some corals responded vastly different with ones right next to them when it came to bleaching. The corals had been taken from different parents from different geographic and genetic backgrounds.
The heat and bleaching may have subsided, but the corals that did survive the bleaching event are not out of the water. The corals will be more susceptible to disease and could experience a notable decrease in spawning the first year after bleaching, with gradual recovery in the subsequent years.
In the summer of 2023, corals in the Florida Keys faced the hottest ocean temperatures on record, and the longest-lasting marine heat wave recorded in three decades. The marine heat wave prompted emergency evacuation of in-water nursery corals to land-based nurseries to limit heat exposure. Collaboration between Mission: Iconic Reefs and coral conservation practitioners safeguarded the genetic diversity of coral reef-building species.
“We are fortunate to have the unwavering dedication and expertise of multiple partners collaborating with NOAA to restore this critical ecosystem,” said Jennifer Mooore, co-lead of Mission:Iconic Reefs and Endangered Species Act coral recovery coordinator for NOAA Fisheries. “The assessment results, complementary research efforts from partners and lessons from emergency activities over the summer will inform effective and innovative restoration strategies to support the health of Florida’s coral reefs.”
The Sanctuary Advisory Council on Tuesday will receive a briefing from the winter follow-up survey cruise. Other topics include incident reporting, sponge restoration and NOAA’s Ocean Guardian Schools Program. A public comment opportunity will be offered at about noon.
An agenda and supporting materials will be posted at https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/sac. For questions or information prior to the meeting, contact Liz Trueblood at elizabeth.trueblood@noaa.gov.
The council will meet at 9 a.m. at Marathon City Council Chambers, 9805 Overseas Highway, Marathon. The meeting will also be available in real time for listening only via GoToWebinar, register in advance by clicking on the following link https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8378983827506267477.
To listen by phone, call +1-914-614-3221 and enter the pin number 971-558-377.
tohara@keysnews.com
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