New study finds that 70% of Florida's coral reefs are eroding

The University of Miami's school of marine, atmospheric, and earth science.

A new study shows that 70% of Florida's reefs are being eroded. New information on the state of Florida's world-famous coral reefs has been provided by a group of scientists.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

"This research helps us to better understand which reefs along Florida's reef tract are vulnerable to habitat loss and require management and restoration efforts to prevent further habitat loss," said the study's lead author. Reefs that may be potential hold outs to reef development and are more likely to persist in the future were identified.

The benthic ecology and parrotfish data were analyzed to calculate each site's carbonate budget. 350 miles from the Dry Tortugas to the St. A positive carbonate budget shows the reef is growing, while a negative carbonate budget shows it is losing structure.

The carbonate production and carbonate erosion were calculated using the data from the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Coral cover and parrotfish numbers are the primary drivers of carbonate budgets. Over half of the sites were losing reef habitat on an annual basis.

The need for outplanting corals to help restore coral structure that has been lost is underscored by the findings. This can be used as a baseline to implement and track the success of management strategies in the future.

The third largest coral barrier reef in the world is located in the Florida Reef Tract.

The largest drivers of coral loss in Florida over the last decade include bleaching events, ship groundings and disease, which continues to decimate Florida and Caribbean reefs.

Florida's coral reefs support tens of thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in sales and income every year. Flooding and storm surge can be prevented by healthy reefs.

According to Morris, unless management strategies are implemented, Florida's eroding reefs will likely reduce the extent to which coral reefs can sustain these important economic and ecological services.

The low net carbonate accretion characterizes Florida's coral reef. The DOI is 10.1038/s4158

Journal information: Scientific Reports

The University of Miami's School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science provided this.

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