Miami Scientists Move Elkhorn Coral Ashore Before Bleaching

Elkhorn coral, once a dominant reef-builder, was declared functionally extinct along Florida's coast, from Broward County to the Keys, after a punishing marine heat wave in 2023 and a milder one in 2024 killed wild colonies and left survivors too scattered to reproduce naturally. Waters this year have warmed even faster, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently raised its bleaching alert, warning that temperatures could soon trigger widespread damage. Not everyone is retreating to land, however: Andrew Baker's laboratory has left "Flonduran" coral, elkhorn cross-bred with heat-hardy relatives from Honduras, on the reef to test their endurance, while other teams are labelling and shifting fragile colonies to cooler, deeper water.

The stakes are considerable, because coral reefs underpin fisheries, buffer coastlines against storms and draw tourists. To coordinate the response, NOAA has awarded the university a four-year, 16-million-dollar grant overseeing ten organisations, several of which are racing to protect irreplaceable "Founders", the last wild genotypes that hold the population's genetic diversity. The timing is delicate: many corals are due to spawn in early August, so moving them too soon could disrupt their once-a-year reproduction, a trade-off one specialist called "a calculated gamble". Adding to the pressure, promised state restoration funding has recently been cut, leaving many conservation groups scrambling for money even as the waters around Florida grow steadily hotter.