Midlarz added that no other Atlantic species grows so large or forms such an extensive lattice.
“These are the only ones that provide this true three-dimensional structure,” she said.
There are several pockets of surviving coral, including remnants as far north as Miami and Broward County. However, researchers believe there is no hope of a return. Corals spawn, releasing eggs and sperm that mix with the water and settle, but ocean currents prevent those reproductive cells from drifting south, Canning said.
Although this study focused on Florida, the 2023 heat wave had dramatic effects on elk and staghorn corals throughout the Caribbean, outside researchers say.
Stacy Williams, scientific director of ISER Caribe, a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to coral restoration, said extreme temperatures have killed nearly all of the elk coral in southern Puerto Rico. Then heat waves in 2024 devastated some northern colonies that had shown greater resilience. Williams says her organization is doing “biobanking of coral species,” collecting living fragments.
In Florida, the 2023 heatwave wiped out decades of elk and staghorn coral restoration projects, including at sites where four years of intensive work had increased coral cover. about four times.
The study says importing heat-tolerant corals from out of state may be the only way forward.
In the future, Midlarz said, scientists could consider editing coral genes to make them more heat-tolerant, but that idea would require more research and careful study.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature last week approved further research into whether gene-editing tools could be used to conserve wild animal populations. hotly debated topic because of its bioethical issues.
“It’s up for discussion because anything is up for discussion,” Midlarz said.
